Semiconductor device and electronic device

ABSTRACT

An oscillator capable of quick startup is provided. A transistor is provided between an output terminal of a certain stage inverter and an input terminal of the following stage inverter included in the voltage controlled oscillator. With the use of the on resistance of the transistor, the oscillation frequency of the clock signal is controlled. While supply of the power supply voltage is stopped, a signal that is input to the input terminal of the inverter just before supply of the power supply voltage is stopped is stored by turning off the transistor. This operation makes it possible to immediately output a clock signal that has the same frequency as that before supply of the power supply voltage is stopped at the time when the power supply voltage is supplied again.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

One embodiment of the present invention relates to a semiconductordevice.

Note that one embodiment of the present invention is not limited to theabove technical field. The technical field of one embodiment of theinvention disclosed in this specification and the like relates to anobject, a method, or a manufacturing method. One embodiment of thepresent invention relates to a process, a machine, manufacture, or acomposition of matter. Specifically, examples of the technical field ofone embodiment of the present invention disclosed in this specificationinclude a semiconductor device, a display device, a liquid crystaldisplay device, a light-emitting device, a lighting device, a powerstorage device, a memory device, an imaging device, a method foroperating any of them, and a method for manufacturing any of them.

In this specification and the like, a semiconductor device generallymeans a device that can function by utilizing semiconductorcharacteristics. A transistor and a semiconductor circuit areembodiments of semiconductor devices. In some cases, a memory device, adisplay device, an imaging device, or an electronic device includes asemiconductor device.

2. Description of the Related Art

A voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) is one of oscillator circuits andis capable of controlling the oscillation frequency of an output signalby signal voltage to be supplied. A ring oscillator VCO is known as anexample and disclosed in Patent Document 1.

A voltage controlled oscillator is used in a phase-locked loop (PLL) ora DC-DC converter. A PLL is used, as a circuit for generating stablefrequency signals, for a central processing unit (CPU), a programmablelogic device, or the like.

REFERENCE Patent Document

-   Patent Document 1 Japanese Published Patent Application No.    H6-310994

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A high-performance circuit such as a CPU is required to operate at highspeed, and the power consumption thereof should be reduced. In order toreduce the power consumption, a control method in which in which powersupply is stopped at the time of idling can be used, for example.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a ring oscillator voltage controlledoscillator. A signal transmission circuit (also referred to as a delaycircuit) is formed using an inverter INV including a p-channeltransistor M1 and an n-channel transistor M2 and an n-channel transistorM3 connected between the transistor M2 and a ground terminal. Theoscillation frequency is controlled by changing the on resistance of thetransistor M3 with Vbias.

In the above voltage controlled oscillator, the input potentials of theinverters are changed when power supply is stopped because the chargesflow out through the transistors. Therefore, it takes time until theoscillation frequency is stabilized after the power is turned on again.That is, it is difficult for the voltage controlled oscillatorillustrated in FIG. 9 to start up quickly.

In view of the above, an object of one embodiment of the presentinvention is to provide an oscillator capable of quick startup. Anotherobject is to provide an oscillator that can oscillate at the samefrequency as that before supply of power supply voltage is stopped assoon as supply of the power supply voltage, which is once stopped, isrestarted. Another object is to provide an oscillator in which an inputsignal can be stored in each of input terminals of inverters. Anotherobject is to provide an oscillator including a circuit that storessignals for controlling an oscillation frequency. Another object is toprovide an oscillator that can be used in a wide temperature range.Another object is to provide a highly reliable oscillator. Anotherobject is to provide a novel oscillator or the like. Another object isto provide an operation method of the oscillator. Another object is toprovide a novel semiconductor device or the like.

Note that the descriptions of these objects do not disturb the existenceof other objects. In one embodiment of the present invention, there isno need to achieve all the objects. Other objects will be apparent fromand can be derived from the description of the specification, thedrawings, the claims, and the like.

One embodiment of the present invention relates to an oscillator capableof quick startup.

One embodiment of the present invention is a semiconductor deviceincluding a first transistor, a second transistor, a third transistor, afourth transistor, and a capacitor. The first transistor has a polaritydifferent from that of the second transistor. A gate of the firsttransistor is electrically connected to a gate of the second transistor.One of a source and a drain of the first transistor is electricallyconnected to one of a source and a drain of the second transistor. Theone of the source and the drain of the first transistor is electricallyconnected to one of a source and a drain of the third transistor. A gateof the third transistor is electrically connected to one of a source anda drain of the fourth transistor. The gate of the third transistor iselectrically connected to one electrode of the capacitor. The otherelectrode of the capacitor is electrically connected to the other of thesource and the drain of the first transistor.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a semiconductor deviceincluding a first transistor, a second transistor, a third transistor, afourth transistor, a fifth transistor, and a capacitor. The firsttransistor has a polarity different from that of the second transistor.The fifth transistor has the same polarity as the second transistor. Agate of the first transistor is electrically connected to a gate of thesecond transistor. One of a source and a drain of the first transistoris electrically connected to one of a source and a drain of the secondtransistor. The one of the source and the drain of the first transistoris electrically connected to one of a source and a drain of the fifthtransistor. A gate of the fifth transistor is electrically connected tothe other of the source and the drain of the first transistor. The otherof the source and the drain of the fifth transistor is electricallyconnected to one of a source and a drain of the third transistor. A gateof the third transistor is electrically connected to one of a source anda drain of the fourth transistor. The gate of the third transistor iselectrically connected to one electrode of the capacitor. The otherelectrode of the capacitor is electrically connected to the other of thesource and the drain of the second transistor.

In the semiconductor device of any of the above two embodiments, theother of the source and the drain of the first transistor can beelectrically connected to a high potential power supply line, and theother of the source and the drain of the second transistor can beelectrically connected to a low potential power supply line.

Among the transistors used in the semiconductor device of any of theabove two embodiments, the third transistor, the fourth transistor, andthe fifth transistor preferably include an oxide semiconductor in theirchannel formation regions.

The oxide semiconductor preferably contains In, Zn, and M (M is Al, Ga,Y, or Sn). The second transistor may include an oxide semiconductor inits channel formation region.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, an oscillatorcapable of quick startup can be provided. An oscillator that canoscillate at the same frequency as that before supply of power supplyvoltage is stopped as soon as supply of the power supply voltage, whichis once stopped, is restarted can be provided. An oscillator in which aninput signal can be stored in an input terminal of an inverter can beprovided. An oscillator including a circuit that stores signals forcontrolling an oscillation frequency can be provided. An oscillator thatcan be used in a wide temperature range can be provided. A highlyreliable oscillator can be provided. A novel oscillator or the like canbe provided. An operation method of the oscillator can be provided. Anovel semiconductor device or the like can be provided.

Note that one embodiment of the present invention is not limited tothese effects. For example, depending on circumstances or conditions,one embodiment of the present invention might produce another effect.Furthermore, depending on circumstances or conditions, one embodiment ofthe present invention might not produce the above effects.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram illustrating a signal transmission circuit;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are block diagrams illustrating a voltage controlledoscillator and a PLL;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are circuit diagrams each illustrating a signaltransmission circuit;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are timing charts each illustrating operation of avoltage controlled oscillator;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are circuit diagrams each illustrating a signaltransmission circuit;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are circuit diagrams each illustrating a signaltransmission circuit;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a voltage controlled oscillator;

FIGS. 8A and 8B are timing charts each illustrating operation of avoltage controlled oscillator;

FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram illustrating a signal transmission circuit;

FIGS. 10A and 10B are circuit diagrams each illustrating a signaltransmission circuit;

FIGS. 11A and 11B are cross-sectional views illustrating a signaltransmission circuit;

FIGS. 12A and 12B are cross-sectional views each illustrating a signaltransmission circuit;

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a signal transmissioncircuit;

FIGS. 14A to 14F are top views and cross-sectional views illustrating atransistor;

FIGS. 15A to 15F are top views and cross-sectional views illustrating atransistor;

FIGS. 16A to 16D each illustrate a cross section of a transistor in achannel width direction;

FIGS. 17A to 17F each illustrate a cross section of a transistor in achannel length direction;

FIGS. 18A to 18E are a top view and cross-sectional views illustrating asemiconductor layer;

FIGS. 19A to 19F are top views and cross-sectional views illustrating atransistor;

FIGS. 20A to 20F are top views and cross-sectional views illustrating atransistor;

FIGS. 21A to 21D each illustrate a cross section of a transistor in achannel width direction;

FIGS. 22A to 22F each illustrate a cross section of a transistor in achannel length direction;

FIGS. 23A and 23B are a top view and a cross-sectional view illustratinga transistor;

FIGS. 24A to 24C are top views each illustrating a transistor;

FIGS. 25A to 25C each show the range of the atomic ratio of an oxidesemiconductor;

FIG. 26 shows the crystal structure of InMZnO₄;

FIGS. 27A and 27B are band structures in a stacked-layer structure of anoxide semiconductor;

FIGS. 28A to 28E show structural analysis results of a CAAC-OS and asingle crystal oxide semiconductor by XRD and selected-area electrondiffraction patterns of a CAAC-OS;

FIGS. 29A to 29E show a cross-sectional TEM image and plan-view TEMimages of a CAAC-OS and images obtained through analysis thereof;

FIGS. 30A to 30D show electron diffraction patterns and across-sectional TEM image of an nc-OS;

FIGS. 31A and 31B show cross-sectional TEM images of an a-like OS;

FIG. 32 shows changes in crystal parts of In—Ga—Zn oxides induced byelectron irradiation;

FIG. 33 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of aprocessing unit (wireless IC);

FIG. 34 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of aprocessing unit (PLD);

FIG. 35 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of aprocessing unit (MCU);

FIG. 36 is a perspective exploded view showing an example of a displaydevice;

FIG. 37A is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of animaging device, and FIG. 37B is a block diagram illustrating aconfiguration example of a driver circuit; and

FIGS. 38A to 38F illustrate structure examples of electronic devices.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.Note that the present invention is not limited to the followingdescription. It will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the artthat modes and details of the present invention can be modified invarious ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention. The present invention therefore should not be construed asbeing limited to the following description of the embodiments. Instructures of the invention described below, the same portions orportions having similar functions are denoted by the same referencenumerals in different drawings, and the description thereof is notrepeated in some cases. The same components are denoted by differenthatching patterns in different drawings, or the hatching patterns areomitted in some cases.

Note that ordinal numbers such as “first” and “second” are used forconvenience and do not denote the order of steps or the stacking orderof layers. Therefore, for example, the term “first” can be replaced withthe term “second,” “third,” or the like as appropriate. In addition, theordinal numbers in this specification and the like do not correspond tothe ordinal numbers which specify one embodiment of the presentinvention in some cases.

For example, in this specification and the like, an explicit description“X and Y are connected” means that X and Y are electrically connected, Xand Y are functionally connected, and X and Y are directly connected.Accordingly, without being limited to a predetermined connectionrelationship, for example, a connection relationship shown in drawingsor texts, another connection relationship is included in the drawings orthe texts.

Here, each of X and Y denotes an object (e.g., a device, an element, acircuit, a wiring, an electrode, a terminal, a conductive film, or alayer).

Examples of the case where X and Y are directly connected include thecase where an element that enables electrical connection between X and Y(e.g., a switch, a transistor, a capacitor, an inductor, a resistor, adiode, a display element, a light-emitting element, or a load) is notconnected between X and Y, and the case where X and Y are connectedwithout the element that enables electrical connection between X and Y(e.g., a switch, a transistor, a capacitor, an inductor, a resistor, adiode, a display element, a light-emitting element, or a load) providedtherebetween.

For example, in the case where X and Y are electrically connected, oneor more elements that enable electrical connection between X and Y(e.g., a switch, a transistor, a capacitor, an inductor, a resistor, adiode, a display element, a light-emitting element, or a load) can beconnected between X and Y. Note that the switch is controlled to turn onor off. That is, the switch is conducting or not conducting (is turnedon or off) to determine whether current flows therethrough or not.Alternatively, the switch has a function of selecting and changing acurrent path. Note that the case where X and Y are electricallyconnected includes the case where X and Y are directly connected.

For example, in the case where X and Y are functionally connected, oneor more circuits that enable functional connection between X and Y(e.g., a logic circuit such as an inverter, a NAND circuit, or a NORcircuit; a signal converter circuit such as a D/A converter circuit, anA/D converter circuit, or a gamma correction circuit; a potential levelconverter circuit such as a power supply circuit (e.g., a step-upcircuit or a step-down circuit) or a level shifter circuit for changingthe potential level of a signal; a voltage source; a current source; aswitching circuit; an amplifier circuit such as a circuit that canincrease signal amplitude, the amount of current, or the like, anoperational amplifier, a differential amplifier circuit, a sourcefollower circuit, or a buffer circuit; a signal generator circuit; astorage circuit; or a control circuit) can be connected between X and Y.Note that for example, in the case where a signal output from X istransmitted to Y even when another circuit is provided between X and Y,X and Y are functionally connected. The case where X and Y arefunctionally connected includes the case where X and Y are directlyconnected and X and Y are electrically connected.

Note that in this specification and the like, an explicit description “Xand Y are electrically connected” means that X and Y are electricallyconnected (i.e., the case where X and Y are connected with anotherelement or another circuit provided therebetween), X and Y arefunctionally connected (i.e., the case where X and Y are functionallyconnected with another circuit provided therebetween), and X and Y aredirectly connected (i.e., the case where X and Y are connected withoutanother element or another circuit provided therebetween). That is, inthis specification and the like, the explicit description “X and Y areelectrically connected” is the same as the explicit description “X and Yare connected.

For example, the case where a source (or a first terminal or the like)of a transistor is electrically connected to X through (or not through)Z1 and a drain (or a second terminal or the like) of the transistor iselectrically connected to Y through (or not through) Z2, or the casewhere a source (or a first terminal or the like) of a transistor isdirectly connected to part of Z1 and another part of Z1 is directlyconnected to X while a drain (or a second terminal or the like) of thetransistor is directly connected to part of Z2 and another part of Z2 isdirectly connected to Y, can be expressed by using any of the followingexpressions.

The expressions include, for example, “X, Y, a source (or a firstterminal or the like) of a transistor, and a drain (or a second terminalor the like) of the transistor are electrically connected to each other,and X, the source (or the first terminal or the like) of the transistor,the drain (or the second terminal or the like) of the transistor, and Yare electrically connected to each other in that order,” “a source (or afirst terminal or the like) of a transistor is electrically connected toA, a drain (or a second terminal or the like) of the transistor iselectrically connected to Y, and X, the source (or the first terminal orthe like) of the transistor, the drain (or the second terminal or thelike) of the transistor, and Y are electrically connected to each otherin that order,” and “X is electrically connected to Y through a source(or a first terminal or the like) and a drain (or a second terminal orthe like) of a transistor, and X, the source (or the first terminal orthe like) of the transistor, the drain (or the second terminal or thelike) of the transistor, and Y are connected in that order.” When theconnection order in a circuit configuration is defined by an expressionsimilar to the above examples, a source (or a first terminal or thelike) and a drain (or a second terminal or the like) of a transistor canbe distinguished from each other to specify the technical scope.

Other examples of the expressions include “a source (or a first terminalor the like) of a transistor is electrically connected to X through atleast a first connection path, the first connection path does notinclude a second connection path, the second connection path is a pathbetween the source (or the first terminal or the like) of the transistorand a drain (or a second terminal or the like) of the transistor, Z1 ison the first connection path, the drain (or the second terminal or thelike) of the transistor is electrically connected to Y through at leasta third connection path, the third connection path does not include thesecond connection path, and Z2 is on the third connection path.” It isalso possible to use the expression “a source (or a first terminal orthe like) of a transistor is electrically connected to X through atleast Z1 on a first connection path, the first connection path does notinclude a second connection path, the second connection path includes aconnection path through the transistor, a drain (or a second terminal orthe like) of the transistor is electrically connected to Y through atleast Z2 on a third connection path, and the third connection path doesnot include the second connection path.” Still another example of theexpressions is “a source (or a first terminal or the like) of atransistor is electrically connected to X through at least Z1 on a firstelectrical path, the first electrical path does not include a secondelectrical path, the second electrical path is an electrical path fromthe source (or the first terminal or the like) of the transistor to adrain (or a second terminal or the like) of the transistor, the drain(or the second terminal or the like) of the transistor is electricallyconnected to Y through at least Z2 on a third electrical path, the thirdelectrical path does not include a fourth electrical path, and thefourth electrical path is an electrical path from the drain (or thesecond terminal or the like) of the transistor to the source (or thefirst terminal or the like) of the transistor.” When the connection pathin a circuit configuration is defined by an expression similar to theabove examples, a source (or a first terminal or the like) and a drain(or a second terminal or the like) of a transistor can be distinguishedfrom each other to specify the technical scope.

Note that these expressions are examples and there is no limitation onthe expressions. Here, X, Y, Z1, and 22 each denote an object (e.g., adevice, an element, a circuit, a wiring, an electrode, a terminal, aconductive film, or a layer).

Even when independent components are electrically connected to eachother in a circuit diagram, one component has functions of a pluralityof components in some cases. For example, when part of a wiring alsofunctions as an electrode, one conductive film functions as the wiringand the electrode. Thus, the term “electrical connection” in thisspecification also means such a case where one conductive film hasfunctions of a plurality of components.

Note that the terms “film” and “layer” can be interchanged with eachother depending on circumstances or conditions. For example, the term“conductive layer” can be changed into the term “conductive film” insome cases. In addition, the term “insulating film” can be changed intothe term “insulating layer” in some cases.

Note that in general, a potential (voltage) is relative and isdetermined depending on the amount relative to a certain potential.Therefore, even when the expression “ground,” “GND,” or the like isused, the potential is not necessarily 0 V. For example, the “groundpotential” or “GND” might be defined using the lowest potential in acircuit as a reference. Alternatively, the “ground potential” or “GND”might be defined using an intermediate potential in a circuit as areference. In those cases, a positive potential and a negative potentialare set using the potential as a reference.

Embodiment 1

In this embodiment, an oscillator of one embodiment of the presentinvention will be described with reference to drawings.

One embodiment of the present invention is a circuit configuration andan operation method of a voltage controlled oscillator that canoscillate at the same frequency as that just before supply of powersupply voltage is stopped, as soon as supply of the power supplyvoltage, which is once stopped during oscillating, is restarted.

The use of one embodiment of the present invention makes it possible tostart oscillating immediately after supply of power supply voltage isrestarted in the case where supply of power supply voltage to thevoltage controlled oscillator in CPUs and the like is temporarilystopped and the voltage controlled oscillator stops oscillating.Therefore, a circuit that operates in synchronism with output signalsonly at a certain oscillation frequency can be started up quickly.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a transistor is providedbetween an output terminal of a certain stage inverter and an inputterminal of the following stage inverter included in the voltagecontrolled oscillator. With the use of the on resistance of thetransistor, the oscillation frequency of the output signal iscontrolled. While supply of the power supply voltage is stopped, asignal that is input to the input terminal of the inverter just beforesupply of the power supply voltage is stopped is stored by turning offthe transistor. At the time when the power supply voltage is suppliedagain, this operation makes it possible to immediately output a signalthat has the same frequency as that before supply of the power supplyvoltage is stopped.

For the above transistor, a transistor including an oxide semiconductorin its channel formation region can be used. Such a transistor has a lowoff-state current, and can easily form a memory that stores a signalinput just before supply of the power supply voltage is stopped.

The transistor including an oxide semiconductor in its channel formationregion has lower temperature dependence of change in electricalcharacteristics than a transistor including silicon in its active regionor its active layer, and thus can be used in an extremely wide range oftemperatures. Therefore, an oscillator and a semiconductor device whichinclude transistors each including an oxide semiconductor in its channelformation region are suitable also for use in automobiles, aircrafts,spacecrafts, and the like.

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of a circuit 20 included in an oscillator ofone embodiment of the present invention. The circuit 20 includes atransistor 41, a transistor 42, a transistor 43, a transistor 44, and acapacitor C. Here, an inverter 40 is formed using the transistor 41 andthe transistor 42.

In the circuit 20 illustrated in FIG. 1, a gate of the transistor 41 iselectrically connected to a gate of the transistor 42. One of a sourceand a drain of the transistor 41 is electrically connected to one of asource and a drain of the transistor 42. The one of the source and thedrain of the transistor 41 is electrically connected to one of a sourceand a drain of the transistor 43. A gate of the transistor 43 iselectrically connected to one of a source and a drain of the transistor44. The gate of the transistor 43 is electrically connected to oneelectrode of the capacitor C1. The other electrode of the capacitor C1is electrically connected to the other of the source and the drain ofthe transistor 41.

Note that FIG. 1 illustrates an example where the inverter 40 is formedusing a CMOS circuit in which the transistor 41 is a p-channeltransistor and the transistor 42 is an n-channel transistor; however,one embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto. Theinverter 40 may be an NMOS inverter or a PMOS inverter. In addition,although the example where the transistor 44 is an n-channel transistoris illustrated, the transistor 44 may alternatively be a p-channeltransistor.

A wiring to which the gate of the transistor 43, the one electrode ofthe capacitor C1, and the one of the source and the drain of thetransistor 44 are connected is referred to as a node FD here. A wiringto which the gate of the transistor 41 and the gate of the transistor 42are electrically connected functions as an input terminal IN of thecircuit 20. A wiring to which the other of the source and the drain ofthe transistor 43 is electrically connected functions as an outputterminal OUT of the circuit 20.

In FIG. 1, the other of the source and the drain of the transistor 41 iselectrically connected to a wiring 71. The other of the source and thedrain of the transistor 42 is electrically connected to a wiring 72(GND). The other of the source and the drain of the transistor 44 iselectrically connected to a wiring 73 (WD). A gate of the transistor 44is electrically connected to a wiring 61 (W).

The wiring 71 (VDD) and the wiring 72 (GND) can function as power supplylines. The wiring 71 (VDD) can function as a high potential power supplyline and supplies power supply voltage VDD, for example. The wiring 72(GND) can function as a low potential power supply line and supplies 0 Vor a ground potential GND, for example. When supply of the power supplyvoltage is stopped, the wiring 71 (VDD) supplies 0 V or a groundpotential GND, for example.

The wiring 61 (W) can function as a signal line for controlling theon/off states of the transistor 44. The wiring 73 (WD) can function as asignal line for supplying a desired potential to the node FD.

The circuit 20 can function as a signal transmission circuit of a ringoscillator. FIG. 2A is a circuit diagram of a voltage controlledoscillator 21 of one embodiment of the present invention, which isprovided with a ring oscillator 22 including n-stage circuits 20 (n isan odd number) and a buffer circuit 23. An output terminal OUT of acertain stage circuit 20 is electrically connected to an input terminalIN of the following stage circuit 20. An output terminal OUT of the laststage circuit 20 is electrically connected to an input terminal IN ofthe first stage circuit 20 and to an input terminal of the buffercircuit 23.

The circuit 20 has a function of outputting an inversion signal of aninput signal. The ring oscillator 22 is formed by connecting odd numbersof the circuits 20 and can output an output signal having a particularoscillation frequency. The buffer circuit 23 has a function ofamplifying current at the time when the output signal from the ringoscillator 22 is output to the outside. Note that a structure withoutthe buffer circuit 23 may also be employed.

FIG. 2B is a structure example of a PLL which can be provided with thevoltage controlled oscillator 21 of one embodiment of the presentinvention. The PLL includes a phase comparator 10, a loop filter 15, thevoltage controlled oscillator 21, and a frequency divider 25. The phasecomparator 10 has a function of detecting a phase difference between twoinput signals and outputs a phase difference between signals with afundamental frequency ƒ_(in) and with a comparison frequency ƒ_(out)/Nas a voltage signal. The loop filter 15 has a function of generating adirect-current voltage signal DATA which is to be input to the voltagecontrolled oscillator 21. As the loop filter 15, a low path filter orthe like is used because a high-frequency component included in anoutput signal from the phase comparator 10 needs to be removed. Thevoltage controlled oscillator 21 has a function of outputting an outputsignal with a particular oscillation frequency depending on DATA. Thefrequency divider 25 has a function of generating a signal which is 1/N(N is an integer) times the output signal with the particularoscillation frequency that is output from the voltage controlledoscillator 21.

Operation of the circuit 20 illustrated in FIG. 1 and operation of thevoltage controlled oscillator 21 illustrated in FIG. 2A including thecircuit 20 will be described. The transistor 44 is turned on first,whereby analog data corresponding to the potential of the wiring 73 (WD)is written to the node FD. After that, the transistor 44 is turned off,and the analog data is stored in the node FD.

Whether the transistor 43 is conductive or non-conductive is controlledin accordance with the analog data stored in the node FD. When thetransistor 43 is conductive, the circuit 20 outputs an inversion signalof an input signal. That is, the voltage controlled oscillator 21oscillates. On the other hand, when the transistor 43 is non-conductive,a signal transmission path of the circuit 20 is blocked. That is, thevoltage controlled oscillator 21 does not oscillate.

On-state current of the transistor 43 is controlled in accordance withthe analog data stored in the node FD. When a relatively high analogpotential is applied to the node FD, the on resistance of the transistor43 is low. That is, the oscillation frequency of an output signal fromthe voltage controlled oscillator 21 increases. On the other hand, whena relatively low analog potential is applied to the node FD, the onresistance of the transistor 43 is high. That is, the oscillationfrequency of an output signal from the voltage controlled oscillator 21decreases. In other words, the oscillation frequency of the voltagecontrolled oscillator 21 can be controlled in accordance with the analogpotential stored in the node FD of the circuit 20.

For each of the transistor 43 and the transistor 44, it is preferable touse a transistor with a significantly low off-state current thatincludes an oxide semiconductor in its channel formation region.

With the use of this transistor, the potential of the node FD is storedfor a long time when the transistor 44 is off. In addition, when thetransistor 43 is off, the potential of the output terminal OUT of thecircuit 20 (the potential of the input terminal IN of the followingstage circuit 20 in the ring oscillator 22) is stored for a long time.

Accordingly, the oscillation is stopped by setting the potential of thenode FD at “L” level when the voltage controlled oscillator 21 isoscillating, whereby the voltage just before the oscillation is stoppedis stored in the input terminal IN and the output terminal OUT of eachof the circuits 20. For example, a “H” level potential is stored in theoutput terminal OUT of the first stage circuit 20 (the input terminal INof the second stage circuit 20), and a “L” level potential is stored inthe output terminal OUT of the second stage circuit 20 (the inputterminal IN of the third stage circuit 20). Therefore, the voltagecontrolled oscillator 21 can immediately start oscillating in accordancewith the voltage stored in the input terminal IN and the output terminalOUT of each of the circuits 20 by setting the potential of the node FDat “H” level again, even when the potential of the node FD is set at “L”level and the oscillation is stopped for a long time.

In order to stop the oscillation of the voltage controlled oscillator21, it is effective to stop supply of the power supply voltage VDD (“H”level) from the wiring 71 (VDD). Specifically, the voltage level of thewiring 71 (VDD) is changed from “H” level to “L” level (e.g., 0 V or aGND potential). At this time, the inverter 40 does not word, whereby thecircuit 20 becomes unable to transmit a signal. That is, the voltagecontrolled oscillator 21 stops oscillating.

Furthermore, the voltage level of the wiring 71 (VDD) is changed from“H” level to “L” level, whereby capacitive coupling occurs through thecapacitor C1, and the potential of the node FD is reduced to “L” level.That is, the transistor 43 is turned off. In other words, the transistor43 can be turned off at the same time when supply of the power supplyvoltage VDD is stopped. In addition, at the same time when thetransistor 43 is turned off, the voltage just before the voltagecontrolled oscillator 21 stops oscillating is stored in the inputterminal IN and the output terminal OUT of each of the circuits 20.

When the power supply voltage VDD is supplied again to the wiring 71(VDD), the voltage level of the wiring 71 (VDD) is changed from “L”level to “H” level, whereby capacitive coupling occurs through thecapacitor C1. The potential of the node FD increases to “H” level.Accordingly, the transistor 43 is turned on and the voltage controlledoscillator 21 restarts oscillating immediately.

In order that the voltage controlled oscillator 21 stops oscillating,operation in which the wiring 73 (WD) is set at “L” level, thetransistor 44 is turned on, and the node FD is set at “L” level may beperformed. In this case, in order to oscillate the voltage controlledoscillator 21, operation may be performed as follows: the voltage levelof the wiring 71 (VDD) is not changed, the wiring 73 (WD) is set at “H”level, the transistor 44 is turned on, and the node FD is set at “H”level.

FIG. 4A is a timing chart illustrating one example of driving methodswhen the circuit 20 in FIG. 1 is used for the voltage controlledoscillator 21 in FIG. 2A. VDD is the potential of the wiring 71 (VDD),WD is the potential of the wiring 73 (WD), W is the potential of thewiring 61 (W), FD is the potential of the node FD, IN is the potentialof an input terminal IN of a particular circuit 20, and OUT is thepotential of the output terminal OUT of the particular circuit 20. Avoltage by which positive logic is given is V1 (“H” level), and avoltage by which negative logic is given is GND (“L” level).

At time T0, a “H” level potential (a power supply voltage VDD) isapplied to the wiring 71 (VDD) and an analog potential Va is applied tothe wiring 73 (WD). Note that Va is higher than or equal to thethreshold voltage (Vth) of the transistor 43.

At time T1, a “H” level potential is applied to the wiring 61 (W),whereby the transistor 44 is turned on, and then the potential of thenode FD is set to Va. Accordingly, the transistor 43 is turned on,whereby the voltage controlled oscillator 21 starts oscillating. Notethat at the first time of the operation, the potential of the inputterminal IN of the circuit 20 is not determined, so that the operationis unstable and irregular signals are output at the beginning of theoscillation.

At time T2, a “L” level potential is applied to the wiring 61 (W),whereby the transistor 44 is turned off and the analog potential Va isstored in the node FD. After that, a “L” level potential is applied tothe wiring 73 (WD).

At time T3, a “L” level potential is applied to the wiring 71 (VDD),whereby the inverter 40 becomes non-operational and the potential of thenode FD decreases to “L” level due to capacitive coupling through thecapacitor C1. Consequently, the transistor 43 is turned off. Thetransistor 43 is non-conductive, whereby the potential of the inputterminal IN and the potential of the output terminal OUT of each of thecircuits 20 are stored. It is supposed that, in the particular circuit20, the “L” level potential is stored in the input terminal IN and the“H” level potential is stored in the output terminal OUT.

At time T4, a “H” level potential is applied to the wiring 71 (VDD),whereby the inverter 40 becomes operational and the potential of thenode FD increases to Va due to capacitive coupling through the capacitorC1. Consequently, the transistor 43 is turned on. The transistor 43 isconductive, whereby each of the circuits 20 outputs an output signal inresponse to the stored input signal. That is, the voltage controlledoscillator 21 can oscillate as soon as the power supply voltage VDD issupplied again to the wiring 71 (VDD).

The circuit 20 may have a structure illustrated in FIG. 3A. The circuit20 illustrated in FIG. 3A includes the transistor 41, the transistor 42,the transistor 43, the transistor 44, a transistor 45, and the capacitorC1.

In the circuit 20 in FIG. 3A, the gate of the transistor 41 iselectrically connected to the gate of the transistor 42. One of thesource and the drain of the transistor 41 is electrically connected toone of the source and the drain of the transistor 42. The one of thesource and the drain of the transistor 41 is electrically connected toone of a source and a drain of the transistor 45. A gate of thetransistor 45 is electrically connected to the other of the source andthe drain of the transistor 41. The other of the source and the drain ofthe transistor 45 is electrically connected to one of the source and thedrain of the transistor 43. The gate of the transistor 43 iselectrically connected to one of the source and the drain of thetransistor 44. The gate of the transistor 43 is electrically connectedto one electrode of the capacitor C1. The other electrode of thecapacitor C1 is electrically connected to the other of the source andthe drain of the transistor 42.

The circuit 20 illustrated in FIG. 3A is different from the circuit 20illustrate in FIG. 1 in that the transistor 45 is provided, the gate ofthe transistor 45 is electrically connected to the other of the sourceand the drain of the transistor 41, and the other electrode of thecapacitor C1 is electrically connected to the other of the source andthe drain of the transistor 42. Note that, as illustrated in FIG. 3B,the structure in which one of the source and the drain of the transistor43 is electrically connected to the one of the source and the drain ofthe transistor 41 and the other of the source and the drain of thetransistor 43 is electrically connected to the one of the source and thedrain of the transistor 45 may be used.

For the transistor 45, it is preferable to use a transistor with asignificantly low off-state current that includes an oxide semiconductorin its channel formation region. With the use of this transistor, thepotential of the output terminal OUT of the circuit 20 (the potential ofthe input terminal IN of the following circuit 20 in the ring oscillator22) is stored for a long time when the transistor 45 is off.

In the circuits 20 illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the transistor 45 isprovided between an output side of the inverter 40 and the outputterminal OUT of the circuit 20, and the gate of the transistor 45 iselectrically connected to the wiring 71 (VDD). Thus, the power supplyvoltage VDD is applied to the wiring 71 (VDD), whereby the inverter 40becomes operational and the transistor 45 is turned on. The circuit 20outputs an inversion signal of an input signal. That is, the voltagecontrolled oscillator 21 oscillates. When supply of the power supplyvoltage VDD is stopped, the inverter 40 becomes non-operational and thetransistor 45 is turned off. A signal transmission path of the circuit20 is blocked. That is, the voltage controlled oscillator 21 does notoscillate.

If supply of the power supply voltage VDD is stopped at the time whenthe voltage controlled oscillator 21 is oscillating, the voltage levelof the wiring 71 (VDD) is changed from “H” level to “L” level.Therefore, the transistor 45 is turned off, and the voltage just beforethe voltage controlled oscillator 21 stops oscillating is stored in theinput terminal IN and the output terminal OUT of each of the circuits20.

When the power supply voltage VDD is applied again to the wiring 71(VDD), the voltage level of the wiring 71 (VDD) is changed from “L”level to “H” level, whereby the transistor 45 is turned on and thevoltage controlled oscillator 21 restarts oscillating immediately.

FIG. 4B is a timing chart illustrating one example of driving methodswhen the circuit 20 in FIG. 3A or 3B is used for the voltage controlledoscillator 21 in FIG. 2A.

At time T0, an analog potential Va is applied to the wiring 73 (WD).Note that Va is higher than or equal to the threshold voltage (Vth) ofthe transistor 43.

At time T1, a “H” level potential is applied to the wiring 61 (W),whereby the transistor 44 is turned on and the potential of the node FDis set to Va.

At time T2, a “L” level potential is applied to the wiring 61 (W),whereby the transistor 44 is turned off and the analog potential Va isstored in the node FD. After that, the “L” level potential is applied tothe wiring 73 (WD).

At time T3, a “H” level potential (a power supply voltage VDD) isapplied to the wiring 71 (VDD), whereby the transistor 45 is turned on,and then the voltage controlled oscillator 21 starts oscillating. Notethat at the first time of the operation, the potential of the inputterminal IN of the circuit 20 is not determined, so that the operationis unstable and irregular signals are output at the beginning of theoscillation.

At time T4, a “L” level potential is applied to the wiring 71 (VDD),whereby the transistor 45 is turned off. The transistor 45 isnon-conductive, whereby the potential of the input terminal IN and thepotential of the output terminal OUT of each of the circuits 20 arestored.

At time T5, a “H” level potential is applied to the wiring 71 (VDD),whereby the transistor 45 is turned on. The transistor 45 is conductive,whereby each of the circuits 20 outputs an output signal in response tothe stored input signal. That is, the voltage controlled oscillator 21can oscillate as soon as the power supply voltage VDD is supplied againto the wiring 71 (VDD).

The above circuits 20 (in FIG. 1, and FIGS. 3A and 3B) are capable ofoutputting output signals having different oscillation frequencies byrewriting the potential of the node FD. However, a circuit having amulti-context function may be used for a signal transmission circuit ofthe voltage controlled oscillator 21.

The use of a signal transmission circuit having a multi-context functionmakes it easy to switch the oscillation frequencies. Context means acircuit configuration for controlling the oscillation of the voltagecontrolled oscillator, here. The voltage controlled oscillator 21oscillates at a particular oscillation frequency in accordance with ananalog potential stored in a selected context.

FIG. 5A is a circuit diagram of the circuit 24 that includes two contextfunctions. The circuit 24 includes the transistor 41, the transistor 42,a transistor 43 a, a transistor 43 b, a transistor 44 a, a transistor 44b, a transistor 46 a, a transistor 46 b, the capacitor C1, and acapacitor C2. The inverter 40 is formed using the transistor 41 and thetransistor 42, here. A first context is formed of the transistor 43 a,the transistor 44 a, the transistor 46 a, and the capacitor C1. A secondcontext is formed of the transistor 43 b, the transistor 44 b, thetransistor 46 b, and the capacitor C2.

In the circuit 24 illustrated in FIG. 5A, the gate of the transistor 41is electrically connected to the gate of the transistor 42. One of thesource and the drain of the transistor 41 is electrically connected toone of the source and the drain of the transistor 42. The one of thesource and the drain of the transistor 41 is electrically connected toone of a source and a drain of the transistor 43 a. A gate of thetransistor 43 a is electrically connected to one of a source and a drainof the transistor 44 a. The other of the source and the drain of thetransistor 43 a is electrically connected to one of a source and a drainof the transistor 46 a. The gate of the transistor 43 a is electricallyconnected to one electrode of the capacitor C1. The other electrode ofthe capacitor C1 is electrically connected to the other of the sourceand the drain of the transistor 41. The one of the source and the drainof the transistor 41 is electrically connected to one of a source and adrain of a transistor 43 b. A gate of the transistor 43 b iselectrically connected to one of a source and a drain of the transistor44 b. The other of the source and the drain of the transistor 43 b iselectrically connected to one of a source and a drain of a transistor 46b. The gate of the transistor 43 b is electrically connected to oneelectrode of the capacitor C2. The other electrode of the capacitor C2is electrically connected to the other of the source and the drain ofthe transistor 41. The other of the source and the drain of thetransistor 46 a is electrically connected to the other of the source andthe drain of the transistor 46 b.

Note that the transistor 46 a may be provided between an output side ofthe inverter 40 and the transistor 43 a, and the transistor 46 b may beprovided between an output side of the inverter 40 and the transistor 43b, as illustrated in FIG. 5B. In this case, the other of the source andthe drain of the transistor 43 a is electrically connected to the otherof the source and the drain of the transistor 43 b.

A wiring to which the gate of the transistor 43 a, the one electrode ofthe capacitor C1, and the one of the source and the drain of thetransistor 44 a are connected is referred to as a node FD1, here. Awiring to which the gate of the transistor 43 b, the one electrode ofthe capacitor C2, and the one of the source and the drain of thetransistor 44 b are connected is referred to as a node FD2. A wiring towhich the gate of the transistor 41 and the gate of the transistor 42are electrically connected functions as an input terminal IN of thecircuit 24. In FIG. 5A, a wiring to which the other of the source andthe drain of the transistor 46 a and the other of the source and thedrain of the transistor 46 b are electrically connected functions as anoutput terminal OUT of the circuit 24. In FIG. 5B, a wiring to which theother of the source and the drain of the transistor 43 a and the otherof the source and the drain of the transistor 43 b are electricallyconnected functions as an output terminal OUT of the circuit 24.

In FIGS. 5A and 5B, the other of the source and the drain of thetransistor 41 is electrically connected to the wiring 71 (VDD). Theother of the source and the drain of the transistor 42 is electricallyconnected to the wiring 72 (GND). The other of the source and the drainof the transistor 44 a is electrically connected to the wiring 73 (WD).A gate of the transistor 44 a is electrically connected to a wiring 62(W1). A gate of the transistor 46 a is electrically connected to awiring 64 (SE1). The other of the source and the drain of the transistor44 b is electrically connected to the wiring 73 (WD). A gate of thetransistor 44 b is electrically connected to a wiring 63 (W2). A gate ofthe transistor 46 b is electrically connected to a wiring 65 (SE2).

The wiring 62 (W1) can function as a signal line for controlling theon/off states of the transistor 44 a. The wiring 63 (W2) can function asa signal line for controlling the on/off states of the transistor 44 b.The wiring 64 (SE1) can function as a signal line for controlling theon/off states of the transistor 46 a. The wiring 65 (SE2) can functionas a signal line for controlling the on/off states of the transistor 46b. The wiring 73 (WD) can function as a signal line for supplying adesired potential to the node FD1 or the node FD2.

FIG. 7 illustrates the voltage controlled oscillator 21 which caninclude the circuit 24 and is provided with a ring oscillator 26including n-stage circuits 24 (n is an odd number) and a buffer circuit27. An output terminal OUT of a certain stage circuit 24 is electricallyconnected to an input terminal IN of the following stage circuit 24. Anoutput terminal OUT of the last stage circuit 24 is electricallyconnected to an input terminal IN of the first stage circuit 24 and toan input terminal of the buffer circuit 27. Note that a structurewithout the buffer circuit 27 may be employed.

Operation of the circuits 24 illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B andoperation of the voltage controlled oscillator 21 illustrated in FIG. 7including the circuit 24 will be described. The transistor 44 a isturned on first, and a potential Vb of the wiring 73 (WD) is written inthe node FD1. After that, the transistor 44 a is turned off, whereby theanalog potential Vb is stored in the node FD1. After the potential ofthe wiring 73 (WD) is changed to Vc, the transistor 44 b is turned on,and a potential Vc of the wiring 73 (WD) is written in the node FD2.After that, the transistor 44 b is turned off, whereby the analogpotential Vc is stored in the node FD2.

Whether the transistor 43 a is conductive or non-conductive iscontrolled in accordance with the analog data stored in the node FD1.Whether the transistor 43 b is conductive or non-conductive iscontrolled in accordance with the analog data stored in the node FD2.

On-state current of the transistor 43 a is controlled in accordance withthe analog data stored in the node FD1. On-state current of thetransistor 43 b is controlled in accordance with the analog data storedin the node FD2. In the first context, the on resistance of thetransistor 43 a is low when a relatively high analog potential isapplied to the node FD1. That is, the oscillation frequency of an outputsignal from the voltage controlled oscillator 21 increases. On the otherhand, when a relatively low analog potential is applied to the node FD1,the on resistance of the transistor 43 a is high. That is, theoscillation frequency of an output signal from the voltage controlledoscillator 21 decreases. Also in the second context, the oscillationfrequency of an output signal from the voltage controlled oscillator 21changes depending on the potential of the node FD2.

In the first context, whether the transistor 46 a is conductive ornon-conductive is controlled in accordance with a signal input from thewiring 64 (SE1). When the potential of the wiring 64 (SE1) is at “H”level, the transistor 46 a is turned on. Accordingly, when thetransistor 43 a is on in accordance with the potential Vb of the nodeFD1 and the transistor 46 a is conductive, the circuit 24 outputs aninversion signal of an input signal. That is, the voltage controlledoscillator 21 oscillates at the first oscillation frequency. On theother hand, when the transistor 46 a is non-conductive, a signaltransmission path of the circuit 24 is blocked. That is, the voltagecontrolled oscillator 21 does not oscillate.

In the second context, whether the transistor 46 b is conductive ornon-conductive is controlled in accordance with a signal input from thewiring 65 (SE2). When the potential of the wiring 65 (SE2) is at “H”level, the transistor 46 b is turned on. Accordingly, when thetransistor 43 b is on in accordance with the potential Vc of the nodeFD2 and the transistor 46 b is conductive, the circuit 24 outputs aninversion signal of an input signal. That is, the voltage controlledoscillator 21 oscillates at the second oscillation frequency. On theother hand, when the transistor 46 b is non-conductive, a signaltransmission path of the circuit 24 is blocked. That is, the voltagecontrolled oscillator 21 does not oscillate.

In other words, either the first context or the second context isselected, whereby the voltage controlled oscillator 21 can oscillate atone of two different frequencies, the first oscillation frequency andthe second oscillation frequency. In order to select the first context,the potential of the wiring 64 (SE) may be set at “H” level and thepotential of the wiring 65 (SE2) may be set at “L” level. In order toselect the second context, the potential of the wiring 64 (SE1) may beset at “L” level, and the potential of the wiring 65 (SE2) may be set at“H” level.

For each of the transistor 43 a, the transistor 43 b, the transistor 46a, and the transistor 46 b, it is preferable to use a transistor with asignificantly low off-state current that includes an oxide semiconductorin its channel formation region. With the use of this transistor, thepotential of the output terminal OUT of the circuit 24 (the potential ofthe input terminal IN of the following stage circuit 24 in the ringoscillator 26) is stored for a long time when the transistors 46 a and46 b are off.

Therefore, when the first context is selected, the voltage just beforethe voltage controlled oscillator 21 stops oscillating is stored in theinput terminal IN and the output terminal OUT of each of the circuits 24in the following manner: oscillation of the voltage controlledoscillator 21 oscillating at the first oscillation frequency is stoppedby turning off the transistor 46 a. Accordingly, the voltage controlledoscillator 21 can start oscillating at the first oscillation frequencyin accordance with the voltage stored in the input terminal IN and theoutput terminal OUT of each of the circuits 24 by turning on thetransistor 46 a again, even when the oscillation is stopped for a longtime by turning off the transistor 46 a. Also when the second context isselected, the voltage controlled oscillator 21 can start oscillatingimmediately at the second oscillation frequency, even when theoscillation of the voltage controlled oscillator 21 oscillating at thesecond oscillation frequency is stopped for a long time.

In order to stop the oscillation of the voltage controlled oscillator21, supply of the power supply voltage VDD (“H” level) from the wiring71 (VDD) may be stopped. Specifically, the voltage level of the wiring71 (VDD) is changed from “H” level to “L” level (e.g., 0 V or a GNDpotential). At this time, the inverter 40 does not work, whereby thecircuit 24 becomes unable to transmit a signal. That is, the voltagecontrolled oscillator 21 stops oscillating.

When the first context is selected, the potential of the node FD1decreases to “L” level due to capacitive coupling occurring through thecapacitor C1 by changing the voltage level of the wiring 71 (VDD) from“H” level to “L” level. That is, the transistor 43 a is turned off. Inother words, the transistor 43 a can be turned off at the same time whensupply of the power supply voltage VDD is stopped. In addition, at thesame time when the transistor 43 a is turned off, the voltage justbefore the voltage controlled oscillator 21, which is oscillating at thefirst oscillation frequency, stops oscillating is stored in the inputterminal IN and the output terminal OUT of each of the circuits 24.

When the power supply voltage VDD is supplied again to the wiring 71(VDD), the voltage level of the wiring 71 (VDD) is changed from “L”level to “H” level, whereby capacitive coupling occurs through thecapacitor C1. The potential of the node FD1 increases to “H” level.Accordingly, the transistor 43 a is turned on and the voltage controlledoscillator 21 restarts oscillating at the first oscillation frequencyimmediately. Also when the second context is selected, the voltage justbefore the voltage controlled oscillator 21 oscillating at the secondoscillation frequency stops oscillating can be stored in the inputterminal IN and the output terminal OUT of each of the circuits 24, andthe voltage controlled oscillator 21 can restart oscillating at thesecond oscillation frequency as soon as the power supply voltage VDD issupplied again.

FIG. 8A is a timing chart illustrating one example of driving methodswhen the circuit 24 in FIG. 5A or 5B is used for the voltage controlledoscillator 21 in FIG. 7. VDD is the potential of the wiring 71 (VDD), WDis the potential of the wiring 73 (WD), W1 is the potential of thewiring 62 (W1), W2 is the potential of the wiring 63 (W2), FD1 is thepotential of the node FD1, FD2 is the potential of the node FD2, SE1 isthe potential of the wiring 64 (SE1), SE2 is the potential of the wiring65 (SE2), IN is the potential of an input terminal IN of a particularcircuit 24, and OUT is the potential of an output terminal OUT of theparticular circuit 24. A voltage by which positive logic is given is V1(“H” level), and a voltage by which negative logic is given is GND (“L”level).

At time T0, a “H” level potential (a power supply voltage VDD) isapplied to the wiring 71 (VDD) and an analog potential Vb is applied tothe wiring 73 (WD). Note that Vb is higher than or equal to thethreshold voltage (Vth) of each of the transistors 43 a and 43 b.

At time T1, a “H” level potential is applied to the wiring 62 (W1),whereby the transistor 44 a is turned on and the potential of the nodeFD1 is set to Vb.

At time T2, a “L” level potential is applied to the wiring 62 (W1),whereby the transistor 44 a is turned off and the analog potential Vb isstored in the node FD1. After that, an analog potential Vc is applied tothe wiring 73 (WD). Here, Vc is higher than or equal to the thresholdvoltage (Vth) of each of the transistors 43 a and 43 b and lower thanVb.

At time T3, a “H” level potential is applied to the wiring 63 (W2),whereby the transistor 44 b is turned on and the potential of the nodeFD2 is set to Vc.

At time T4, a “L” level potential is applied to the wiring 63 (W2),whereby the transistor 44 b is turned off and the analog potential Vc isstored in the node FD2.

After that, a “L” level potential is applied to the wiring 73 (WD).

At time T5, a “H” level potential is applied to the wiring 64 (SE1),whereby the transistor 46 a is turned on, and then the circuit 24outputs an inversion signal of an input signal. That is, the voltagecontrolled oscillator 21 starts oscillating at the first oscillationfrequency. Note that at the first time of the operation, the potentialof the input terminal IN of the circuit 24 is not determined, so thatthe operation is unstable and irregular signals are output at thebeginning of the oscillation. At this time, the “H” level potential isapplied to the wiring 64 (SE1) and a “L” level potential is applied tothe wiring 65 (SE2), whereby the first context circuit is selected.

At time T6, a “L” level potential is applied to the wiring 71 (VDD),whereby the inverter 40 becomes non-operational, so that the oscillationof the voltage controlled oscillator 21 oscillating at the firstoscillation frequency is stopped. In addition, the potential of the nodeFD1 decreases to “L” level due to capacitive coupling through thecapacitor C1. Consequently, the transistor 43 a is turned off. Thetransistor 43 a is non-conductive, whereby the potential of the inputterminal IN and the potential of the output terminal OUT of each of thecircuits 24 are stored.

At time T7, a “H” level potential is applied to the wiring 71 (VDD),whereby the potential of the node FD1 increases to Vb due to capacitivecoupling through the capacitor C1. Consequently, the transistor 43 a isturned on. The transistor 43 a is conductive, whereby each of thecircuits 24 outputs an output signal in response to the stored inputsignal. That is, the voltage controlled oscillator 21 can oscillate atthe first oscillation frequency as soon as the power supply voltage VDDis supplied again to the wiring 71 (VDD).

At time T8, a “L” level potential is applied to the wiring 64 (SE1) anda “H” level potential is applied to the wiring 65 (SE2), whereby thetransistor 46 a is turned off and the transistor 46 b is turned on. Thatis, the second context circuit is selected. In other words, the voltagecontrolled oscillator 21 oscillates at the second oscillation frequency.

At this time, the potential Vc which is stored in the node FD2 is lowerthan the potential Vb which is stored in the node FD1; therefore, the onresistance of the transistor 43 b is higher than the on resistance ofthe transistor 43 a. Accordingly, the second oscillation frequency islower than the first oscillation frequency.

A circuit having a multi-context function which can be used as thesignal transmission circuit included in the voltage controlledoscillator 21 illustrated in FIG. 7 may be the circuit 24 illustrated inFIGS. 6A and 6B.

FIG. 6A is a circuit diagram of the circuit 24 that includes two contextfunctions. The circuit 24 includes the transistor 41, the transistor 42,the transistor 43 a, the transistor 43 b, the transistor 44 a, thetransistor 44 b, the transistor 46 a, the transistor 46 b, a transistor47, the capacitor C1, and the capacitor C2. The inverter 40 is formedusing the transistor 41 and the transistor 42, here. The first contextis formed of the transistor 43 a, the transistor 44 a, the transistor 46a, and the capacitor C1. The second context is formed of the transistor43 b, the transistor 44 b, the transistor 46 b, and the capacitor C2.

The circuit 24 illustrated in FIG. 6A is different from the circuit 24illustrated in FIG. 5A in that the transistor 47 is provided, a gate ofthe transistor 47 is electrically connected to the other of the sourceand the drain of the transistor 41, and the other electrode of thecapacitor C1 and the other electrode of the capacitor C2 areelectrically connected to the other of the source and the drain of thetransistor 42.

Note that, in FIG. 6A, the transistor 47 is provided between theinverter 40 and the first and second contexts; however, the transistor47 may be provided between the first and second contexts and the outputterminal OUT as illustrated in FIG. 6B.

For the transistor 47, it is preferable to a transistor with asignificantly low off-state current that includes an oxide semiconductorin its channel formation region. With the use of this transistor, thepotential of the output terminal OUT of the circuit 24 (the potential ofthe input terminal IN of the following circuit 24 in the ring oscillator26) is stored for a long time when the transistor 47 is off.

In the circuit 24 illustrated in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the transistor 47 isprovided between an output side of the inverter 40 and the outputterminal OUT of the circuit 24, and the gate of the transistor 47 iselectrically connected to the wiring 71 (VDD). Thus, the power supplyvoltage VDD is applied to the wiring 71 (VDD), whereby the inverter 40becomes operational and the transistor 47 is turned on. Then, thecircuit 24 outputs an inversion signal of an input signal if either thetransistor 46 a or the transistor 46 b is conductive. That is, thevoltage controlled oscillator 21 oscillates. When supply of the powersupply voltage VDD is stopped, the inverter 40 becomes non-operationaland the transistor 47 is turned off. A signal transmission path of thecircuit 24 is blocked. That is, the voltage controlled oscillator 21does not oscillate.

If supply of the power supply voltage VDD is stopped at the time whenthe voltage controlled oscillator 21 is oscillating, the voltage levelof the wiring 71 (VDD) is changed from “H” level to “L” level.Therefore, the transistor 47 is turned off, and the voltage just beforethe voltage controlled oscillator 21 stops oscillating is stored in theinput terminal IN and the output terminal OUT of each of the circuits24.

When the power supply voltage VDD is applied again to the wiring 71(VDD), the voltage level of the wiring 71 (VDD) is changed from “L”level to “H” level, whereby the transistor 47 is turned on and thevoltage controlled oscillator 21 restarts oscillating immediately.

FIG. 8B is a timing chart illustrating one example of driving methodswhen the circuit 24 in FIG. 6A or 6B is used for the voltage controlledoscillator 21 in FIG. 7.

At time T0, the analog potential Vb is applied to the wiring 73 (WD).Note that Vb is higher than or equal to the threshold voltage (Vth) ofeach of the transistors 43 a and 43 b.

At time T1, a “H” level potential is applied to the wiring 62 (W1),whereby the transistor 44 a is turned on and the potential of the nodeFD1 is set to Vb.

At time T2, a “L” level potential is applied to the wiring 62 (W1),whereby the transistor 44 a is turned off and the analog potential Vb isstored in the node FD1. After that, the analog potential Vc is appliedto the wiring 73 (WD). Here, Vc is higher than or equal to the thresholdvoltage (Vth) of each of the transistors 43 a and 43 b and lower thanVb.

At time T3, a “H” level potential is applied to the wiring 63 (W2),whereby the transistor 44 b is turned on and the potential of the nodeFD2 is set to Vc.

At time T4, a “L” level potential is applied to the wiring 63 (W2),whereby the transistor 44 b is turned off and the analog potential Vc isstored in the node FD2. After that, a “L” level potential is applied tothe wiring 73 (WD).

At time T5, a “H” level potential (the power supply voltage VDD) isapplied to the wiring 71 (VDD) and a “H” level potential is applied tothe wiring 64 (SE1), whereby the transistors 47 and 46 a are turned on,and then the circuit 24 outputs an inversion signal of an input signal.That is, the voltage controlled oscillator 21 starts oscillating at thefirst oscillation frequency. Note that at the first time of theoperation, the potential of the input terminal IN of the circuit 24 isnot determined, so that the operation is unstable and irregular signalsare output at the beginning of the oscillation. At this time, the “H”level potential is applied to the wiring 64 (SE1) and a “L” levelpotential is applied to the wiring 65 (SE2), whereby the first contextcircuit is selected.

At time T6, a “L” level potential is applied to the wiring 71 (VDD),whereby the inverter 40 becomes non-operational, so that the oscillationof the voltage controlled oscillator 21 oscillating at the firstoscillation frequency is stopped. In addition, the transistor 47 isturned off. The transistor 47 is non-conductive, whereby the potentialof the input terminal IN and the potential of the output terminal OUT ofeach of the circuits 24 are stored.

At time T7, a “H” level potential is applied to the wiring 71 (VDD),whereby the transistor 47 is turned on. The transistor 47 is conductive,whereby each of the circuits 24 outputs an output signal in response tothe stored input signal. That is, the voltage controlled oscillator 21can oscillate at the first oscillation frequency as soon as the powersupply voltage VDD is supplied again to the wiring 71 (VDD).

At time T8, a “L” level potential is applied to the wiring 64 (SE1) anda “H” level potential is applied to the wiring 65 (SE2), whereby thetransistor 46 a is turned off and the transistor 46 b is turned on. Thatis, the second context circuit is selected, and the voltage controlledoscillator 21 oscillates at the second oscillation frequency.

The use of structures and operation methods of FIG. 1, FIGS. 3A and 3B,FIGS. 5A and 5B, and FIGS. 6A and 6B makes it possible for the voltagecontrolled oscillator 21 to start oscillating immediately at the time ofrestarting supply of power supply voltage even in the case where supplyof the power supply voltage is temporarily stopped.

A transistor which is used in the circuits 20 and 24 may be providedwith a back gate. For example, FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrateconfigurations in which back gates are provided for the transistors 43and 44 of the circuit 20 illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 10A illustrates aconfiguration in which a constant potential is applied to the backgates, which enables control of the threshold voltages. In FIG. 10A, asan example, the back gates are connected to the wiring 72 (GND) thatapplies a low potential; however, the back gates may be connected to anyof the other wirings. FIG. 10B illustrates a configuration in which thesame potential is applied to the front gate and the back gate, whichenables an increase in on-state current and a decrease in off-statecurrent. The configurations of FIGS. 10A and 10B and the like may becombined such that desired transistors can have appropriate electricalcharacteristics. Note that a transistor without a back gate may beprovided. The configurations in FIGS. 3A and 3B, FIGS. 5A and 5B, andFIGS. 6A and 6B can also have a configuration in which the transistorshave back gates.

Specific structure examples of the oscillator of one embodiment of thepresent invention will be described with reference to drawings. FIGS.11A and 11B illustrate an example of a specific connection between thetransistor 41, the transistor 42, the transistor 43, the transistor 44,and the capacitor C1 which are included in the circuit 20 in FIG. 1.FIG. 11A is a cross-sectional view of a transistor in the channel lengthdirection. FIG. 11B is a cross-sectional view of the transistor in thechannel width direction.

To achieve both high-speed operation and the structure of a CMOScircuit, the transistors 41 and 42 are preferably formed usingtransistors including silicon (hereinafter referred to as Sitransistors). For example, the transistors 41 and 42 can be formed overa substrate 600 which is a silicon substrate. The transistors 43 and 44are preferably formed using transistors including an oxide semiconductor(hereinafter referred to as OS transistors) because of its low off-statecurrent or the like.

The substrate 600 is not limited to a bulk silicon substrate and can bea substrate made of germanium, silicon germanium, silicon carbide,gallium arsenide, aluminum gallium arsenide, indium phosphide, galliumnitride, or an organic semiconductor.

For this reason, a stacked structure can be employed, which includes alayer 1100 in which the transistors 41 and 42 are provided and a layer1200 in which the transistors 43 and 44 are provided as illustrated inFIG. 11A. Such a structure can reduce the area of the oscillator.

The capacitor C1 can be provided in the layer 1200 in such a manner thatthe wiring 75 connecting the gate of the transistor 43 and the one ofthe source and the drain of the transistor 44 is used as one electrode,the wiring 71 (VDD) is used as the other electrode, and an insulatinglayer 84 is used as a dielectric. An inorganic insulating film such as asilicon oxide film or a silicon oxynitride film can be used as theinsulating layer 84, for example. Note that the capacitor C1 mayalternatively be provided in the layer 1100.

Although the wirings, the electrodes, and contact plugs (conductors 88)are illustrated as independent components in cross-sectional views inthis embodiment, some of them are provided as one component in somecases when they are electrically connected to each other. In addition, astructure in which the wiring is connected to the electrode through theconductor 88 is only an example, and the wiring may be directlyconnected to the electrode.

Insulating layers 81 to 83 and the like that function as protectivefilms, interlayer insulating films, or planarization films are providedover the components. For example, an inorganic insulating film such as asilicon oxide film or a silicon oxynitride film can be used as each ofthe insulating layers 81 to 83 and the like. Alternatively, an organicinsulating film such as an acrylic resin film or a polyimide resin filmmay be used. Top surfaces of the insulating layers 81 to 83 and the likeare preferably planarized by chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) or thelike as necessary.

In some cases, one or more of the wirings and the like illustrated inthe drawing are not provided or a wiring, a transistor, or the like thatis not illustrated in the drawing is included in each layer. Inaddition, a layer that is not illustrated in the drawing might beincluded in the stacked-layer structure. Furthermore, one or more of thelayers illustrated in the drawing are not included in some cases.

Although the transistors 43 and 44 each include a back gate in FIG. 11A,each of the transistors does not necessarily include a back gate.Alternatively, one of the transistors, e.g., only the transistor 43, mayinclude a back gate. The back gate of the transistor might beelectrically connected to its front gate provided opposite to the backgate. Alternatively, different fixed potentials might be supplied to theback gate and the front gate. Note that the presence or absence of theback gate can also be applied to another circuit configuration describedin this embodiment.

Although FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate the Si transistors of a fin type,the transistors may be of a planar type as illustrated in FIG. 12A. Asillustrated in FIG. 12B, the transistors may each be a transistorincluding an active layer 650 formed using a silicon thin film. Theactive layer 650 can be formed using polycrystalline silicon or singlecrystal silicon of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structure. In addition,a glass substrate or the like may be used as a substrate 610 of FIG.12B.

As illustrated in FIGS. 11A and 11B, an insulating layer 80 is providedbetween a region including a transistor comprising an oxidesemiconductor (an OS transistor) and a region including a Si transistor.

Dangling bonds of silicon are terminated with hydrogen in insulatinglayers provided in the vicinities of the active regions of thetransistors 41 and 42. Therefore, the hydrogen has an effect ofimproving the reliability of the transistors 41 and 42. Meanwhile,hydrogen in insulating layers which are provided in the vicinity of theoxide semiconductor layer that is the active layer of the transistor 43or the like causes generation of carriers in the oxide semiconductorlayer. Therefore, the hydrogen might reduce the reliability of thetransistor 43 or the like. Consequently, in the case where one layerincluding the transistor formed using a silicon-based semiconductormaterial and the other layer including the OS transistor are stacked, itis preferable that the insulating layer 80 having a function ofpreventing diffusion of hydrogen be provided between the layers.Hydrogen is confined in the one layer by the insulating layer 80, sothat the reliability of the transistors 41 and 42 can be improved.Furthermore, diffusion of hydrogen from the one layer to the other layeris inhibited, so that the reliability of the transistor 41 or the likecan also be improved.

The insulating layer 80 can be, for example, formed using aluminumoxide, aluminum oxynitride, gallium oxide, gallium oxynitride, yttriumoxide, yttrium oxynitride, hafnium oxide, hafnium oxynitride, oryttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ).

The oscillator of one embodiment of the present invention can have astructure in FIG. 13. The oscillator in FIG. 13 is a modificationexample of the oscillator in FIG. 11A. A CMOS inverter is formed usingan OS transistor and a Si transistor.

Here, the transistor 41 is a p-channel Si transistor provided in thelayer 1100, and the transistor 42 is an n-channel OS transistor providedin the layer 1200. When only the p-channel transistor is provided on thesubstrate 600, a step of forming a well, an n-type impurity layer, orthe like can be skipped.

In the oscillator in FIG. 13, the transistor 42 can be formed in thesame process as the transistors 43 and 44 formed in the layer 1200.Thus, the manufacturing process of the oscillator can be simplified.Since the off-state current of the OS transistor is extremely low, thestatic power consumption of the CMOS circuit can be extremely low.

Note that the structure of the transistor included in each of theoscillators described in this embodiment is only an example. Therefore,for example, either one or both the transistors 41 and 42 can be formedusing a transistor including an oxide semiconductor layer as an activelayer. Furthermore, either one or both the transistors 43 and 44 can beformed using a transistor in which an active region or an active layerincludes silicon or the like.

In this embodiment, one embodiment of the present invention has beendescribed. Other embodiments of the present invention are described inthe other embodiments. Note that one embodiment of the present inventionis not limited thereto. In other words, various embodiments of theinvention are described in this embodiment and the other embodiments,and one embodiment of the present invention is not limited to aparticular embodiment. Although an example in which one embodiment ofthe present invention is applied to an oscillator is described, oneembodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto. Depending oncircumstances or conditions, one embodiment of the present invention isnot necessarily applied to an oscillator. One embodiment of the presentinvention may be applied to a semiconductor device with anotherfunction, for example. Although an example in which a channel formationregion, a source region, a drain region, or the like of a transistorincludes an oxide semiconductor is described as one embodiment of thepresent invention, one embodiment of the present invention is notlimited thereto. Depending on circumstances or conditions, varioustransistors or a channel formation region, a source region, a drainregion, or the like of a transistor in one embodiment of the presentinvention may include various semiconductors. Depending on circumstancesor conditions, various transistors or a channel formation region, asource region, a drain region, or the like of a transistor in oneembodiment of the present invention may include, for example, at leastone of silicon, germanium, silicon germanium, silicon carbide, galliumarsenide, aluminum gallium arsenide, indium phosphide, gallium nitride,and an organic semiconductor. Alternatively, for example, depending oncircumstances or conditions, various transistors or a channel formationregion, a source region, a drain region, or the like of a transistor inone embodiment of the present invention does not necessarily include anoxide semiconductor.

This embodiment can be combined with any of the structures described inthe other embodiments as appropriate.

Embodiment 2

In this embodiment, an OS transistor that can be used in one embodimentof the present invention will be described with reference to drawings.In the drawings in this embodiment, some components are enlarged,reduced in size, or omitted for easy understanding.

FIGS. 14A and 14B are a top view and a cross-sectional view illustratinga transistor 101 of one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 14A isa top view, and a cross section in the direction of dashed-dotted lineB1-B2 in FIG. 14A is illustrated in FIG. 14B. A cross section in thedirection of dashed-dotted line B3-B4 in FIG. 14A is illustrated in FIG.16A. The direction of dashed-dotted line B1-B2 is referred to as achannel length direction, and the direction of dashed-dotted line B3-B4is referred to as a channel width direction.

The transistor 101 includes an insulating layer 120 in contact with asubstrate 115; an oxide semiconductor layer 130 in contact with theinsulating layer 120; conductive layers 140 and 150 electricallyconnected to the oxide semiconductor layer 130; an insulating layer 160in contact with the oxide semiconductor layer 130 and the conductivelayers 140 and 150; a conductive layer 170 in contact with theinsulating layer 160; an insulating layer 175 in contact with theconductive layers 140 and 150, the insulating layer 160, and theconductive layer 170; and an insulating layer 180 in contact with theinsulating layer 175. The insulating layer 180 may function as aplanarization film as necessary.

The conductive layer 140, the conductive layer 150, the insulating layer160, and the conductive layer 170 can function as a source electrodelayer, a drain electrode layer, a gate insulating film, and a gateelectrode layer, respectively.

A region 231, a region 232, and a region 233 in FIG. 14B can function asa source region, a drain region, and a channel formation region,respectively. The region 231 and the region 232 are in contact with theconductive layer 140 and the conductive layer 150, respectively. When aconductive material that is easily bonded to oxygen is used for theconductive layers 140 and 150, the resistance of the regions 231 and 232can be reduced.

Specifically, since the oxide semiconductor layer 130 is in contact withthe conductive layers 140 and 150, an oxygen vacancy is generated in theoxide semiconductor layer 130, and interaction between the oxygenvacancy and hydrogen that remains in the oxide semiconductor layer 130or diffuses into the oxide semiconductor layer 130 from the outsidechanges the regions 231 and 232 to n-type regions with low resistance.

Note that functions of a “source” and a “drain” of a transistor aresometimes interchanged with each other when a transistor of an oppositeconductivity type is used or when the direction of current flow ischanged in circuit operation, for example. Therefore, the terms “source”and “drain” can be interchanged with each other in this specification.In addition, the term “electrode layer” can be changed into the term“wiring.

The conductive layer 170 includes two layers, conductive layers 171 and172, but also may be a single layer or a stack of three or more layers.The same applies to other transistors described in this embodiment.

Each of the conductive layers 140 and 150 is a single layer, but alsomay be a stack of two or more layers. The same applies to othertransistors described in this embodiment.

The transistor of one embodiment of the present invention may have astructure illustrated in FIGS. 14C and 14D. FIG. 14C is a top view of atransistor 102. A cross section in the direction of dashed-dotted lineC1-C2 in FIG. 14C is illustrated in FIG. 14D. A cross section in thedirection of dashed-dotted line C3-C4 in FIG. 14C is illustrated in FIG.16B. The direction of dashed-dotted line C1-C2 is referred to as achannel length direction, and the direction of dashed-dotted line C3-C4is referred to as a channel width direction.

The transistor 102 has the same structure as the transistor 101 exceptthat an end portion of the insulating layer 160 functioning as a gateinsulating film is not aligned with an end portion of the conductivelayer 170 functioning as a gate electrode layer. In the transistor 102,wide areas of the conductive layers 140 and 150 are covered with theinsulating layer 160 and accordingly the resistance between theconductive layer 170 and the conductive layers 140 and 150 is high;therefore, the transistor 102 has low gate leakage current.

The transistors 101 and 102 each have a top-gate structure including aregion where the conductive layer 170 overlaps with the conductivelayers 140 and 150. To reduce parasitic capacitance, the width of theregion in the channel length direction is preferably greater than orequal to 3 nm and less than 300 nm. Since an offset region is not formedin the oxide semiconductor layer 130 in this structure, a transistorwith high on-state current can be easily formed.

The transistor of one embodiment of the present invention may have astructure illustrated in FIGS. 14E and 14F. FIG. 14E is a top view of atransistor 103. A cross section in the direction of dashed-dotted lineD1-D2 in FIG. 14E is illustrated in FIG. 14F. A cross section in thedirection of dashed-dotted line D3-D4 in FIG. 14E is illustrated in FIG.16A. The direction of dashed-dotted line D1-D2 is referred to as achannel length direction, and the direction of dashed-dotted line D3-D4is referred to as a channel width direction.

The transistor 103 includes the insulating layer 120 in contact with thesubstrate 115; the oxide semiconductor layer 130 in contact with theinsulating layer 120; the insulating layer 160 in contact with the oxidesemiconductor layer 130; the conductive layer 170 in contact with theinsulating layer 160; the insulating layer 175 covering the oxidesemiconductor layer 130, the insulating layer 160, and the conductivelayer 170; the insulating layer 180 in contact with the insulating layer175; and the conductive layers 140 and 150 electrically connected to theoxide semiconductor layer 130 through openings provided in theinsulating layers 175 and 180. The transistor 103 may further include,for example, an insulating layer (planarization film) in contact withthe insulating layer 180 and the conductive layers 140 and 150 asnecessary.

The conductive layer 140, the conductive layer 150, the insulating layer160, and the conductive layer 170 can function as a source electrodelayer, a drain electrode layer, a gate insulating film, and a gateelectrode layer, respectively.

The region 231, the region 232, and the region 233 in FIG. 14F canfunction as a source region, a drain region, and a channel formationregion, respectively. The regions 231 and 232 are in contact with theinsulating layer 175. When an insulating material containing hydrogen isused for the insulating layer 175, for example, the resistance of theregions 231 and 232 can be reduced.

Specifically, interaction between an oxygen vacancy generated in theregions 231 and 232 by the steps up to formation of the insulating layer175 and hydrogen that diffuses into the regions 231 and 232 from theinsulating layer 175 changes the regions 231 and 232 to n-type regionswith low resistance. As the insulating material containing hydrogen, forexample, silicon nitride, aluminum nitride, or the like can be used.

The transistor of one embodiment of the present invention may have astructure illustrated in FIGS. 15A and 15B. FIG. 15A is a top view of atransistor 104. A cross section in the direction of dashed-dotted lineE1-E2 in FIG. 15A is illustrated in FIG. 15B. A cross section in thedirection of dashed-dotted line E3-E4 in FIG. 15A is illustrated in FIG.16A. The direction of dashed-dotted line E1-E2 is referred to as achannel length direction, and the direction of dashed-dotted line E3-E4is referred to as a channel width direction.

The transistor 104 has the same structure as the transistor 103 exceptthat the conductive layers 140 and 150 in contact with the oxidesemiconductor layer 130 cover end portions of the oxide semiconductorlayer 130.

In FIG. 15B, regions 331 and 334 can function as a source region,regions 332 and 335 can function as a drain region, and a region 333 canfunction as a channel formation region.

The resistance of the regions 331 and 332 can be reduced in a mannersimilar to that of the regions 231 and 232 in the transistor 101.

The resistance of the regions 334 and 335 can be reduced in a mannersimilar to that of the regions 231 and 232 in the transistor 103. In thecase where the length of the regions 334 and 335 in the channel lengthdirection is less than or equal to 100 nm, preferably less than or equalto 50 nm, a gate electric field prevents a significant decrease inon-state current. Therefore, a reduction in resistance of the regions334 and 335 is not performed in some cases.

The transistors 103 and 104 each have a self-aligned structure that doesnot include a region where the conductive layer 170 overlaps with theconductive layers 140 and 150. A transistor with a self-alignedstructure, which has extremely low parasitic capacitance between a gateelectrode layer and source and drain electrode layers, is suitable forapplications that require high-speed operation.

The transistor of one embodiment of the present invention may have astructure illustrated in FIGS. 15C and 15D. FIG. 15C is a top view of atransistor 105. A cross section in the direction of dashed-dotted lineF1-F2 in FIG. 15C is illustrated in FIG. 15D. A cross section in thedirection of dashed-dotted line F3-F4 in FIG. 15C is illustrated in FIG.16A. The direction of dashed-dotted line F1-F2 is referred to as achannel length direction, and the direction of dashed-dotted line F3-F4is referred to as a channel width direction.

The transistor 105 includes the insulating layer 120 in contact with thesubstrate 115; the oxide semiconductor layer 130 in contact with theinsulating layer 120; conductive layers 141 and 151 electricallyconnected to the oxide semiconductor layer 130; the insulating layer 160in contact with the oxide semiconductor layer 130 and the conductivelayers 141 and 151; the conductive layer 170 in contact with theinsulating layer 160; the insulating layer 175 in contact with the oxidesemiconductor layer 130, the conductive layers 141 and 151, theinsulating layer 160, and the conductive layer 170; the insulating layer180 in contact with the insulating layer 175; and conductive layers 142and 152 electrically connected to the conductive layers 141 and 151,respectively, through openings provided in the insulating layers 175 and180. The transistor 105 may further include, for example, an insulatinglayer in contact with the insulating layer 180 and the conductive layers142 and 152 as necessary.

The conductive layers 141 and 151 are in contact with the top surface ofthe oxide semiconductor layer 130 and are not in contact with sidesurfaces of the oxide semiconductor layer 130.

The transistor 105 has the same structure as the transistor 101 exceptthat the conductive layers 141 and 151 are provided, that openings areprovided in the insulating layers 175 and 180, and that the conductivelayers 142 and 152 electrically connected to the conductive layers 141and 151, respectively, through the openings are provided. The conductivelayer 140 (the conductive layers 141 and 142) can function as a sourceelectrode layer, and the conductive layer 150 (the conductive layers 151and 152) can function as a drain electrode layer.

The transistor of one embodiment of the present invention may have astructure illustrated in FIGS. 15E and 15F. FIG. 15E is a top view of atransistor 106. A cross section in the direction of dashed-dotted lineG1-G2 in FIG. 15E is illustrated in FIG. 15F. A cross section in thedirection of dashed-dotted line G3-G4 in FIG. 15E is illustrated in FIG.16A. The direction of dashed-dotted line G1-G2 is referred to as achannel length direction, and the direction of dashed-dotted line G3-G4is referred to as a channel width direction.

The transistor 106 includes the insulating layer 120 in contact with thesubstrate 115; the oxide semiconductor layer 130 in contact with theinsulating layer 120; the conductive layers 141 and 151 electricallyconnected to the oxide semiconductor layer 130; the insulating layer 160in contact with the oxide semiconductor layer 130; the conductive layer170 in contact with the insulating layer 160; the insulating layer 175in contact with the insulating layer 120, the oxide semiconductor layer130, the conductive layers 141 and 151, the insulating layer 160, andthe conductive layer 170; the insulating layer 180 in contact with theinsulating layer 175; and the conductive layers 142 and 152 electricallyconnected to the conductive layers 141 and 151, respectively, throughopenings provided in the insulating layers 175 and 180. The transistor106 may further include, for example, an insulating layer (planarizationfilm) in contact with the insulating layer 180 and the conductive layers142 and 152 as necessary.

The conductive layers 141 and 151 are in contact with the top surface ofthe oxide semiconductor layer 130 and are not in contact with sidesurfaces of the oxide semiconductor layer 130.

The transistor 106 has the same structure as the transistor 103 exceptthat the conductive layers 141 and 151 are provided. The conductivelayer 140 (the conductive layers 141 and 142) can function as a sourceelectrode layer, and the conductive layer 150 (the conductive layers 151and 152) can function as a drain electrode layer.

In the structures of the transistors 105 and 106, the conductive layers140 and 150 are not in contact with the insulating layer 120. Thesestructures make the insulating layer 120 less likely to be deprived ofoxygen by the conductive layers 140 and 150 and facilitate oxygen supplyfrom the insulating layer 120 to the oxide semiconductor layer 130.

An impurity for forming an oxygen vacancy to increase conductivity maybe added to the regions 231 and 232 in the transistor 105 and theregions 334 and 335 in the transistors 104 and 106. As an impurity forforming an oxygen vacancy in an oxide semiconductor layer, for example,one or more of the following can be used: phosphorus, arsenic, antimony,boron, aluminum, silicon, nitrogen, helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon,indium, fluorine, chlorine, titanium, zinc, and carbon. As a method foradding the impurity, plasma treatment, ion implantation, ion doping,plasma immersion ion implantation, or the like can be used.

When the above element is added as an impurity element to the oxidesemiconductor layer, a bond between a metal element and oxygen in theoxide semiconductor layer is cut, so that an oxygen vacancy is formed.Interaction between an oxygen vacancy in the oxide semiconductor layerand hydrogen that remains in the oxide semiconductor layer or is addedto the oxide semiconductor layer later can increase the conductivity ofthe oxide semiconductor layer.

When hydrogen is added to an oxide semiconductor in which an oxygenvacancy is formed by addition of an impurity element, hydrogen enters anoxygen vacant site and forms a donor level in the vicinity of theconduction band. Consequently, an oxide conductor can be formed. Here,an oxide conductor refers to an oxide semiconductor having become aconductor. Note that the oxide conductor has a light-transmittingproperty in a manner similar to the oxide semiconductor.

The oxide conductor is a degenerated semiconductor and it is suggestedthat the conduction band edge equals or substantially equals the Fermilevel. For that reason, an ohmic contact is made between an oxideconductor layer and conductive layers functioning as a source electrodelayer and a drain electrode layer; thus, contact resistance between theoxide conductor layer and the conductive layers functioning as a sourceelectrode layer and a drain electrode layer can be reduced.

The transistor of one embodiment of the present invention may include aconductive layer 173 between the oxide semiconductor layer 130 and thesubstrate 115 as illustrated in cross-sectional views in the channellength direction in FIGS. 17A to 17F and cross-sectional views in thechannel width direction in FIGS. 16C and 16D. When the conductive layeris used as a second gate electrode layer (back gate), the on-statecurrent can be increased or the threshold voltage can be controlled. Inthe cross-sectional views in FIGS. 17A to 17F, the width of theconductive layer 173 may be shorter than that of the oxide semiconductorlayer 130. Moreover, the width of the conductive layer 173 may beshorter than that of the conductive layer 170.

In order to increase the on-state current, for example, the conductivelayers 170 and 173 are made to have the same potential, and thetransistor is driven as a double-gate transistor. Furthermore, in orderto control the threshold voltage, a fixed potential that is differentfrom the potential of the conductive layer 170 is applied to theconductive layer 173. To set the conductive layers 170 and 173 to thesame potential, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 16D, the conductivelayers 170 and 173 may be electrically connected to each other through acontact hole.

Although the transistors 101 to 106 in FIGS. 14A to 14F and FIGS. 15A to15F are examples in which the oxide semiconductor layer 130 is a singlelayer, the oxide semiconductor layer 130 may be a stacked layer. Theoxide semiconductor layer 130 in the transistors 101 to 106 can bereplaced with the oxide semiconductor layer 130 in FIGS. 18B and 18C orFIGS. 18D and 18E.

FIG. 18A is a top view of the oxide semiconductor layer 130, and FIGS.18B and 18C are cross-sectional views of the oxide semiconductor layer130 with a two-layer structure. FIGS. 18D and 18E are cross-sectionalviews of the oxide semiconductor layer 130 with a three-layer structure.

Oxide semiconductor layers with different compositions, for example, canbe used as an oxide semiconductor layer 130 a, an oxide semiconductorlayer 130 b, and an oxide semiconductor layer 130 c.

The transistor of one embodiment of the present invention may have astructure illustrated in FIGS. 19A and 19B. FIG. 19A is a top view of atransistor 107. A cross section in the direction of dashed-dotted lineH1-H2 in FIG. 19A is illustrated in FIG. 19B. A cross section in thedirection of dashed-dotted line H3-H4 in FIG. 19A is illustrated in FIG.21A. The direction of dashed-dotted line H1-H2 is referred to as achannel length direction, and the direction of dashed-dotted line H3-H4is referred to as a channel width direction.

The transistor 107 includes the insulating layer 120 in contact with thesubstrate 115; a stack of the oxide semiconductor layers 130 a and 130 bin contact with the insulating layer 120; the conductive layers 140 and150 electrically connected to the stack; the oxide semiconductor layer130 c in contact with the stack and the conductive layers 140 and 150;the insulating layer 160 in contact with the oxide semiconductor layer130 c; the conductive layer 170 in contact with the insulating layer160; the insulating layer 175 in contact with the conductive layers 140and 150, the oxide semiconductor layer 130 c, the insulating layer 160,and the conductive layer 170; and the insulating layer 180 in contactwith the insulating layer 175. The insulating layer 180 may function asa planarization film as necessary.

The transistor 107 has the same structure as the transistor 101 exceptthat the oxide semiconductor layer 130 includes two layers (the oxidesemiconductor layers 130 a and 130 b) in the regions 231 and 232, thatthe oxide semiconductor layer 130 includes three layers (the oxidesemiconductor layers 130 a to 130 c) in the region 233, and that part ofthe oxide semiconductor layer (the oxide semiconductor layer 130 c)exists between the insulating layer 160 and the conductive layers 140and 150.

The transistor of one embodiment of the present invention may have astructure illustrated in FIGS. 19C and 19D. FIG. 19C is a top view of atransistor 108. A cross section in the direction of dashed-dotted lineI1-I2 in FIG. 19C is illustrated in FIG. 19D. A cross section in thedirection of dashed-dotted line I3-I4 in FIG. 19C is illustrated in FIG.21B. The direction of dashed-dotted line I1-I2 is referred to as achannel length direction, and the direction of dashed-dotted line I3-I4is referred to as a channel width direction.

The transistor 108 differs from the transistor 107 in that end portionsof the insulating layer 160 and the oxide semiconductor layer 130 c arenot aligned with the end portion of the conductive layer 170.

The transistor of one embodiment of the present invention may have astructure illustrated in FIGS. 19E and 19F. FIG. 19E is a top view of atransistor 109. A cross section in the direction of dashed-dotted lineJ1-J2 in FIG. 19E is illustrated in FIG. 19F. A cross section in thedirection of dashed-dotted line J3-J4 in FIG. 19E is illustrated in FIG.21A. The direction of dashed-dotted line J1-J2 is referred to as achannel length direction, and the direction of dashed-dotted line J3-J4is referred to as a channel width direction.

The transistor 109 includes the insulating layer 120 in contact with thesubstrate 115; a stack of the oxide semiconductor layers 130 a and 130 bin contact with the insulating layer 120; the oxide semiconductor layer130 c in contact with the stack; the insulating layer 160 in contactwith the oxide semiconductor layer 130 c; the conductive layer 170 incontact with the insulating layer 160; the insulating layer 175 coveringthe stack, the oxide semiconductor layer 130 c, the insulating layer160, and the conductive layer 170; the insulating layer 180 in contactwith the insulating layer 175; and the conductive layers 140 and 150electrically connected to the stack through openings provided in theinsulating layers 175 and 180. The transistor 109 may further include,for example, an insulating layer (planarization film) in contact withthe insulating layer 180 and the conductive layers 140 and 150 asnecessary.

The transistor 109 has the same structure as the transistor 103 exceptthat the oxide semiconductor layer 130 includes two layers (the oxidesemiconductor layers 130 a and 130 b) in the regions 231 and 232 andthat the oxide semiconductor layer 130 includes three layers (the oxidesemiconductor layers 130 a to 130 c) in the region 233.

The transistor of one embodiment of the present invention may have astructure illustrated in FIGS. 20A and 20B. FIG. 20A is a top view of atransistor 110. A cross section in the direction of dashed-dotted lineK1-K2 in FIG. 20A is illustrated in FIG. 20B. A cross section in thedirection of dashed-dotted line K3-K4 in FIG. 20A is illustrated in FIG.21A. The direction of dashed-dotted line K1-K2 is referred to as achannel length direction, and the direction of dashed-dotted line K3-K4is referred to as a channel width direction.

The transistor 110 has the same structure as the transistor 104 exceptthat the oxide semiconductor layer 130 includes two layers (the oxidesemiconductor layers 130 a and 130 b) in the regions 331 and 332 andthat the oxide semiconductor layer 130 includes three layers (the oxidesemiconductor layers 130 a to 130 c) in the region 333.

The transistor of one embodiment of the present invention may have astructure illustrated in FIGS. 20C and 20D. FIG. 20C is a top view of atransistor 111. A cross section in the direction of dashed-dotted lineL1-L2 in FIG. 20C is illustrated in FIG. 20D. A cross section in thedirection of dashed-dotted line L3-L4 in FIG. 20C is illustrated in FIG.21A. The direction of dashed-dotted line L1-L2 is referred to as achannel length direction, and the direction of dashed-dotted line L3-L4is referred to as a channel width direction.

The transistor 111 includes the insulating layer 120 in contact with thesubstrate 115; a stack of the oxide semiconductor layers 130 a and 130 bin contact with the insulating layer 120; the conductive layers 141 and151 electrically connected to the stack; the oxide semiconductor layer130 c in contact with the stack and the conductive layers 141 and 151;the insulating layer 160 in contact with the oxide semiconductor layer130 c; the conductive layer 170 in contact with the insulating layer160; the insulating layer 175 in contact with the stack, the conductivelayers 141 and 151, the oxide semiconductor layer 130 c, the insulatinglayer 160, and the conductive layer 170; the insulating layer 180 incontact with the insulating layer 175; and the conductive layers 142 and152 electrically connected to the conductive layers 141 and 151,respectively, through openings provided in the insulating layers 175 and180. The transistor 111 may further include, for example, an insulatinglayer (planarization film) in contact with the insulating layer 180 andthe conductive layers 142 and 152 as necessary.

The transistor 111 has the same structure as the transistor 105 exceptthat the oxide semiconductor layer 130 includes two layers (the oxidesemiconductor layers 130 a and 130 b) in the regions 231 and 232, thatthe oxide semiconductor layer 130 includes three layers (the oxidesemiconductor layers 130 a to 130 c) in the region 233, and that part ofthe oxide semiconductor layer (the oxide semiconductor layer 130 c)exists between the insulating layer 160 and the conductive layers 141and 151.

The transistor of one embodiment of the present invention may have astructure illustrated in FIGS. 20E and 20F. FIG. 20E is a top view of atransistor 112. A cross section in the direction of dashed-dotted lineM1-M2 in FIG. 20E is illustrated in FIG. 20F. A cross section in thedirection of dashed-dotted line M3-M4 in FIG. 20E is illustrated in FIG.21A. The direction of dashed-dotted line M1-M2 is referred to as achannel length direction, and the direction of dashed-dotted line M3-M4is referred to as a channel width direction.

The transistor 112 has the same structure as the transistor 106 exceptthat the oxide semiconductor layer 130 includes two layers (the oxidesemiconductor layers 130 a and 130 b) in the regions 331, 332, 334, and335, and that the oxide semiconductor layer 130 includes three layers(the oxide semiconductor layers 130 a to 130 c) in the region 333.

The transistor of one embodiment of the present invention may includethe conductive layer 173 between the oxide semiconductor layer 130 andthe substrate 115 as illustrated in cross-sectional views in the channellength direction in FIGS. 22A to 22F and cross-sectional views in thechannel width direction in FIGS. 21C and 21D. When the conductive layeris used as a second gate electrode layer (back gate), the on-statecurrent can be increased or the threshold voltage can be controlled. Inthe cross-sectional views in FIGS. 22A to 22F, the width of theconductive layer 173 may be shorter than that of the oxide semiconductorlayer 130. Moreover, the width of the conductive layer 173 may beshorter than that of the conductive layer 170.

The transistor of one embodiment of the present invention can have astructure illustrated in FIGS. 23A and 23B. FIG. 23A is a top view andFIG. 23B is a cross-sectional view taken along dashed-dotted line N1-N2and dashed-dotted line N3-N4 in FIG. 23A. Note that for simplificationof the drawing, some components are not illustrated in the top view inFIG. 23A.

A transistor 113 in FIGS. 23A and 23B includes the substrate 115, theinsulating layer 120 over the substrate 115, the oxide semiconductorlayer 130 (the oxide semiconductor layers 130 a to 130 c) over theinsulating layer 120, the conductive layers 140 and 150 that are incontact with the oxide semiconductor layer 130 and are apart from eachother, the insulating layer 160 in contact with the oxide semiconductorlayer 130 c, and the conductive layer 170 in contact with the insulatinglayer 160. Note that the oxide semiconductor layer 130 c, the insulatinglayer 160, and the conductive layer 170 are provided in an opening thatis provided in the insulating layer 190 over the transistor 113 andreaches the oxide semiconductor layers 130 a and 130 b and theinsulating layer 120.

The transistor 113 has a smaller region in which a conductor serving asa source or a drain overlaps with a conductor serving as a gateelectrode than the other transistors described above; thus, parasiticcapacitance in the transistor 113 can be reduced. Therefore, thetransistor 113 is preferable as a component of a circuit that needshigh-speed operation. As illustrated in FIG. 23B, a top surface of thetransistor 113 is preferably planarized by chemical mechanical polishing(CMP) or the like, but is not necessarily planarized.

As illustrated in FIGS. 24A and 24B (illustrating only the oxidesemiconductor layer 130, the conductive layer 140, and the conductivelayer 150), the width (W_(SD)) of the conductive layer 140 (sourceelectrode layer) and the conductive layer 150 (drain electrode layer) inthe transistor of one embodiment of the present invention may be eitherlonger than or shorter than the width (W_(OS)) of the oxidesemiconductor layer 130. When W_(OS)≥W_(SD) (W_(SD) is less than orequal to W_(OS)) is satisfied, a gate electric field is easily appliedto the entire oxide semiconductor layer 130, so that electricalcharacteristics of the transistor can be improved. As illustrated inFIG. 24C, the conductive layers 140 and 150 may be formed only in aregion that overlaps with the oxide semiconductor layer 130.

In the transistor of one embodiment of the present invention (any of thetransistors 101 to 113), the conductive layer 170 functioning as a gateelectrode layer electrically surrounds the oxide semiconductor layer 130in the channel width direction with the insulating layer 160 functioningas a gate insulating film positioned therebetween. This structureincreases the on-state current. Such a transistor structure is referredto as a surrounded channel (s-channel) structure.

In the transistor including the oxide semiconductor layers 130 a and 130b and the transistor including the oxide semiconductor layers 130 a to130 c, selecting appropriate materials for the two or three layersforming the oxide semiconductor layer 130 makes current flow to theoxide semiconductor layer 130 b. Since current flows in the oxidesemiconductor layer 130 b, the current is hardly influenced by interfacescattering, leading to high on-state current. Therefore, increasing thethickness of the oxide semiconductor layer 130 b might increase theon-state current.

With the above structure, electrical characteristics of the transistorcan be improved.

The structure described in this embodiment can be used in appropriatecombination with any of the structures described in the otherembodiments.

Embodiment 3

In this embodiment, components of the transistors described inEmbodiment 2 will be described in detail.

As the substrate 115, a glass substrate, a quartz substrate, asemiconductor substrate, a ceramic substrate, a metal substrate having asurface subjected to insulation treatment, or the like can be used.Alternatively, a silicon substrate provided with a transistor and/or aphotodiode can be used, and an insulating layer, a wiring, a conductorfunctioning as a contact plug, and the like may be provided over thesilicon substrate. Note that when p-channel transistors are formed usingthe silicon substrate, a silicon substrate with n⁻-type conductivity ispreferably used. Alternatively, an SOI substrate including an n⁻-type ori-type silicon layer may be used. In the case where a p-channeltransistor is formed using the silicon substrate, a surface of thesilicon substrate where the transistor is formed preferably has a (110)plane orientation. Forming a p-channel transistor with the (110) planecan increase mobility.

The insulating layer 120 can have a function of supplying oxygen to theoxide semiconductor layer 130 as well as a function of preventingdiffusion of impurities from a component included in the substrate 115.For this reason, the insulating layer 120 is preferably an insulatingfilm containing oxygen and further preferably, the insulating layer 120is an insulating film containing oxygen in which the oxygen content ishigher than that in the stoichiometric composition. For example, theinsulating layer 120 is a film of which the amount of released oxygenwhen converted into oxygen atoms is 1.0×10¹⁹ atoms/cm³ or more inthermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS) analysis performed such that thesurface temperature of the film is higher than or equal to 100° C. andlower than or equal to 700° C., and preferably higher than or equal to100° C. and lower than or equal to 500° C. In the case where thesubstrate 115 is provided with another device, the insulating layer 120also functions as an interlayer insulating film. In that case, theinsulating layer 120 is preferably subjected to planarization treatmentsuch as CMP so as to have a flat surface.

For example, the insulating layer 120 can be formed using an oxideinsulating film including aluminum oxide, magnesium oxide, siliconoxide, silicon oxynitride, gallium oxide, germanium oxide, yttriumoxide, zirconium oxide, lanthanum oxide, neodymium oxide, hafnium oxide,tantalum oxide, or the like; a nitride insulating film including siliconnitride, silicon nitride oxide, aluminum nitride, aluminum nitrideoxide, or the like; or a mixed material of any of these. The insulatinglayer 120 may be a stack of any of the above materials.

The oxide semiconductor layer 130 can have a three-layer structure inwhich the oxide semiconductor layers 130 a, 130 b, and 130 c aresequentially stacked from the insulating layer 120 side.

Note that in the case where the oxide semiconductor layer 130 is asingle layer, a layer corresponding to the oxide semiconductor layer 130b described in this embodiment is used.

In the case where the oxide semiconductor layer 130 has a two-layerstructure, a stack in which a layer corresponding to the oxidesemiconductor layer 130 a and a layer corresponding to the oxidesemiconductor layer 130 b are sequentially stacked from the insulatinglayer 120 side is used. In such a case, the oxide semiconductor layers130 a and 130 b can be replaced with each other.

For the oxide semiconductor layer 130 b, for example, an oxidesemiconductor whose electron affinity (an energy difference between avacuum level and the conduction band minimum) is higher than those ofthe oxide semiconductor layers 130 a and 130 c is used.

In such a structure, when an electric field is applied to the conductivelayer 170, a channel is formed in the oxide semiconductor layer 130 bwhose conduction band minimum is the lowest in the oxide semiconductorlayer 130. Therefore, the oxide semiconductor layer 130 b can beregarded as having a region serving as a semiconductor, while the oxidesemiconductor layer 130 a and the oxide semiconductor layer 130 c can beregarded as having a region serving as an insulator or a semi-insulator.

An oxide semiconductor that can be used for each of the oxidesemiconductor layers 130 a to 130 c preferably contains at least In orZn. Both In and Zn are preferably contained. In order to reducevariations in electrical characteristics of the OS transistor, the oxidesemiconductor preferably contains a stabilizer such as Al, Ga, Y, or Snin addition to In and Zn.

The oxide semiconductor layers 130 a to 130 c preferably include crystalparts. In particular, when crystals with c-axis alignment are used, thetransistor can have stable electrical characteristics. Moreover,crystals with c-axis alignment are resistant to bending; therefore,using such crystals can improve the reliability of a semiconductordevice using a flexible substrate.

As the conductive layer 140 functioning as a source electrode layer andthe conductive layer 150 functioning as a drain electrode layer, forexample, a single layer or a stacked layer formed using a materialselected from Al, Cr, Cu, Ta, Ti, Mo, W, Ni, Mn, Nd, and Sc and alloysof any of these metal materials can be used. It is also possible to usea stack of any of the above materials and Cu or an alloy such as Cu—Mn,which has low resistance. In the transistors 105, 106, 111, and 112, forexample, it is possible to use W for the conductive layers 141 and 151and use a stack of Ti and Al for the conductive layers 142 and 152.

The above materials are capable of extracting oxygen from an oxidesemiconductor layer. Therefore, in a region of the oxide semiconductorlayer that is in contact with any of the above materials, oxygen isreleased from the oxide semiconductor layer and an oxygen vacancy isformed. Hydrogen slightly contained in the layer and the oxygen vacancyare bonded to each other, so that the region is markedly changed to ann-type region. Accordingly, the n-type region can serve as a source or adrain of the transistor.

In the case where W is used for the conductive layers 140 and 150, theconductive layers 140 and 150 may be doped with nitrogen. Doping withnitrogen can appropriately lower the capability of extracting oxygen andprevent the n-type region from spreading to a channel region. It ispossible to prevent the n-type region from spreading to a channel regionalso by using a stack of W and an n-type semiconductor layer as theconductive layers 140 and 150 and putting the n-type semiconductor layerin contact with the oxide semiconductor layer. As the n-typesemiconductor layer, an In—Ga—Zn oxide, zinc oxide, indium oxide, tinoxide, indium tin oxide, or the like to which nitrogen is added can beused.

The insulating layer 160 functioning as a gate insulating film can beformed using an insulating film containing one or more of aluminumoxide, magnesium oxide, silicon oxide, silicon oxynitride, siliconnitride oxide, silicon nitride, gallium oxide, germanium oxide, yttriumoxide, zirconium oxide, lanthanum oxide, neodymium oxide, hafnium oxide,and tantalum oxide. The insulating layer 160 may be a stack includingany of the above materials. The insulating layer 160 may contain La, N,Zr, or the like as an impurity.

An example of a stacked structure of the insulating layer 160 isdescribed. The insulating layer 160 includes, for example, oxygen,nitrogen, silicon, or hafnium. Specifically, the insulating layer 160preferably includes hafnium oxide and silicon oxide or siliconoxynitride.

Hafnium oxide and aluminum oxide have higher dielectric constants thansilicon oxide and silicon oxynitride. Therefore, the insulating layer160 using hafnium oxide or aluminum oxide can have larger thickness thanthe insulating layer 160 using silicon oxide, so that leakage currentdue to tunnel current can be reduced. That is, a transistor with lowoff-state current can be provided. Moreover, hafnium oxide with acrystalline structure has a higher dielectric constant than hafniumoxide with an amorphous structure. Therefore, it is preferable to usehafnium oxide with a crystalline structure in order to provide atransistor with low off-state current. Examples of the crystal structureinclude a monoclinic crystal structure and a cubic crystal structure.Note that one embodiment of the present invention is not limited to theabove examples.

For the insulating layers 120 and 160 in contact with the oxidesemiconductor layer 130, a film that releases less nitrogen oxide ispreferably used. In the case where the oxide semiconductor is in contactwith an insulating layer that releases a large amount of nitrogen oxide,the density of states due to nitrogen oxide becomes high in some cases.For the insulating layers 120 and 160, for example, an oxide insulatinglayer such as a silicon oxynitride film or an aluminum oxynitride filmthat releases less nitrogen oxide can be used.

The silicon oxynitride film that releases less nitrogen oxide is a filmthat releases ammonia more than nitrogen oxide in TDS; the amount ofreleased ammonia is typically greater than or equal to 1×10¹⁸ cm⁻³ andless than or equal to 5×10¹⁹ cm⁻³. Note that the amount of releasedammonia is the amount of ammonia released by heat treatment with whichthe surface temperature of the film becomes higher than or equal to 50°C. and lower than or equal to 650° C., preferably higher than or equalto 50° C. and lower than or equal to 550° C.

By using the above oxide insulating layer for the insulating layers 120and 160, a shift in the threshold voltage of the transistor can bereduced, which leads to reduced fluctuations in the electricalcharacteristics of the transistor.

For the conductive layer 170 functioning as a gate electrode layer, forexample, a conductive film formed using Al, Ti, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Y, Zr,Mo, Ru, Ag, Mn, Nd, Sc, Ta, W, or the like can be used. Alternatively,an alloy or a conductive nitride of any of these materials may be used.Alternatively, a stack of a plurality of materials selected from thesematerials, alloys of these materials, and conductive nitrides of thesematerials may be used. Typically, tungsten, a stack of tungsten andtitanium nitride, a stack of tungsten and tantalum nitride, or the likecan be used. Alternatively, Cu or an alloy such as Cu—Mn, which has lowresistance, or a stack of any of the above materials and Cu or an alloysuch as Cu—Mn may be used. In this embodiment, tantalum nitride is usedfor the conductive layer 171 and tungsten is used for the conductivelayer 172 to form the conductive layer 170.

Furthermore, as the conductive layer 170, an oxide conductive layer ofan In—Ga—Zn oxide, zinc oxide, indium oxide, tin oxide, indium tinoxide, or the like may be used.

As the insulating layer 175, a silicon nitride film, an aluminum nitridefilm, or the like containing hydrogen can be used. In the transistors103, 104, 106, 109, 110, and 112 described in Embodiment 2, when aninsulating film containing hydrogen is used as the insulating layer 175,part of the oxide semiconductor layer can have n-type conductivity. Inaddition, a nitride insulating film also functions as a blocking filmagainst moisture and the like and can improve the reliability of thetransistor.

An aluminum oxide film can also be used as the insulating layer 175. Itis particularly preferable to use an aluminum oxide film as theinsulating layer 175 in the transistors 101, 102, 105, 107, 108, and 111described in Embodiment 2. The aluminum oxide film has a high blockingeffect of preventing penetration of both oxygen and impurities such ashydrogen and moisture. Accordingly, during and after the manufacturingprocess of the transistor, the aluminum oxide film can suitably functionas a protective film that has effects of preventing entry of impuritiessuch as hydrogen and moisture into the oxide semiconductor layer 130,preventing release of oxygen from the oxide semiconductor layer, andpreventing unnecessary release of oxygen from the insulating layer 120.

The insulating layer 180 is preferably formed over the insulating layer175. The insulating layer 180 can be formed using an insulating filmcontaining one or more of magnesium oxide, silicon oxide, siliconoxynitride, silicon nitride oxide, silicon nitride, gallium oxide,germanium oxide, yttrium oxide, zirconium oxide, lanthanum oxide,neodymium oxide, hafnium oxide, and tantalum oxide. The insulating layer180 may be a stack of any of the above materials.

Here, like the insulating layer 120, the insulating layer 180 preferablycontains oxygen more than that in the stoichiometric composition. Oxygenreleased from the insulating layer 180 can be diffused into the channelformation region in the oxide semiconductor layer 130 through theinsulating layer 160, so that oxygen vacancies formed in the channelformation region can be filled with oxygen. In this manner, stableelectrical characteristics of the transistor can be achieved.

High integration of a semiconductor device requires miniaturization of atransistor. However, miniaturization of a transistor tends to causedeterioration of electrical characteristics of the transistor. Forexample, a decrease in channel width causes a reduction in on-statecurrent.

In the transistors 107 to 112 of one embodiment of the presentinvention, the oxide semiconductor layer 130 c is formed to cover theoxide semiconductor layer 130 b where a channel is formed; thus, achannel formation layer is not in contact with the gate insulating film.Accordingly, scattering of carriers at the interface between the channelformation layer and the gate insulating film can be reduced and theon-state current of the transistor can be increased.

In the transistor of one embodiment of the present invention, asdescribed above, the gate electrode layer (the conductive layer 170) isformed to electrically surround the oxide semiconductor layer 130 in thechannel width direction; accordingly, a gate electric field is appliedto the oxide semiconductor layer 130 in a direction perpendicular to itsside surface in addition to a direction perpendicular to its topsurface. In other words, a gate electric field is applied to the entirechannel formation layer and effective channel width is increased,leading to a further increase in the on-state current.

Although the variety of films such as the metal films, the semiconductorfilms, and the inorganic insulating films that are described in thisembodiment typically can be formed by sputtering or plasma-enhanced CVD,such films may be formed by another method such as thermal CVD. Examplesof thermal CVD include metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD)and atomic layer deposition (ALD).

Since plasma is not used for deposition, thermal CVD has an advantagethat no defect due to plasma damage is generated.

Deposition by thermal CVD may be performed in such a manner that asource gas and an oxidizer are supplied to the chamber at the same time,the pressure in the chamber is set to an atmospheric pressure or areduced pressure, and reaction is caused in the vicinity of thesubstrate or over the substrate.

Deposition by ALD is performed in such a manner that the pressure in achamber is set to an atmospheric pressure or a reduced pressure, sourcegases for reaction are introduced into the chamber and reacted, and thenthe sequence of gas introduction is repeated. An inert gas (e.g., argonor nitrogen) may be introduced as a carrier gas with the source gases.For example, two or more kinds of source gases may be sequentiallysupplied to the chamber. In that case, after reaction of a first sourcegas, an inert gas is introduced, and then a second source gas isintroduced so that the source gases are not mixed. Alternatively, thefirst source gas may be exhausted by vacuum evacuation instead ofintroduction of the inert gas, and then the second source gas may beintroduced. The first source gas is adsorbed on the surface of thesubstrate and reacted to form a first layer, and then, the second sourcegas is introduced to be adsorbed and reacted. As a result, a secondlayer is stacked over the first layer, so that a thin film is formed.The sequence of gas introduction is controlled and repeated more thanonce until desired thickness is obtained, so that a thin film withexcellent step coverage can be formed. The thickness of the thin filmcan be adjusted by the number of repetition times of the sequence of gasintroduction; therefore, ALD makes it possible to accurately adjustthickness and thus is suitable for manufacturing a minute FET.

The variety of films such as the metal films, the semiconductor films,and the inorganic insulating films that have been disclosed in theembodiments can be formed by thermal CVD such as MOCVD or ALD. Forexample, in the case where an In—Ga—Zn—O film is formed, trimethylindium(In(CH₃)₃), trimethylgallium (Ga(CH₃)₃), and dimethylzinc (Zn(CH₃)) canbe used. Without limitation to the above combination, triethylgallium(Ga(C₂H₅)₃) can be used instead of trimethylgallium and diethylzinc(Zn(C₂H₅)₂) can be used instead of dimethylzinc.

For example, in the case where a hafnium oxide film is formed with adeposition apparatus using ALD, two kinds of gases, i.e., ozone (O₃) asan oxidizer and a source material gas which is obtained by vaporizingliquid containing a solvent and a hafnium precursor (hafnium alkoxideand a hafnium amide such as tetrakis(dimethylamide)hafnium (TDMAH,Hf[N(CH₃)₂]₄) and tetrakis(ethylmethylamide)hafnium) are used.

For example, in the case where an aluminum oxide film is formed with adeposition apparatus using ALD, two kinds of gases, i.e., H₂O as anoxidizer and a source gas which is obtained by vaporizing liquidcontaining a solvent and an aluminum precursor (e.g., trimethylaluminum(TMA, Al(CH₃)₃)) are used. Examples of another material includetris(dimethylamide)aluminum, triisobutylaluminum, and aluminumtris(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedionate).

For example, in the case where a silicon oxide film is formed with adeposition apparatus using ALD, hexachlorodisilane is adsorbed on asurface where a film is to be formed, and radicals of an oxidizing gas(e.g., O₂ or dinitrogen monoxide) are supplied to react with theadsorbate.

For example, in the case where a tungsten film is formed with adeposition apparatus using ALD, a WF₆ gas and a B₂H₆ gas aresequentially introduced to form an initial tungsten film, and then a WF₆gas and an H₂ gas are sequentially introduced to form a tungsten film.Note that an SiH₄ gas may be used instead of a B₂H₆ gas.

For example, in the case where an oxide semiconductor layer, e.g., anIn—Ga—Zn—O film, is formed with a deposition apparatus using ALD, anIn(CH₃)₃ gas and an O₃ gas are sequentially introduced to form an In—Olayer, a Ga(CH₃)₃ gas and an O₃ gas are sequentially introduced to forma Ga—O layer, and then a Zn(CH₃)₂ gas and an O₃ gas are sequentiallyintroduced to form a Zn—O layer. Note that the order of these layers isnot limited to this example. A mixed compound layer such as an In—Ga—Olayer, an In—Zn—O layer, or a Ga—Zn—O layer may be formed by using thesegases. Although an H20 gas which is obtained by bubbling with an inertgas such as Ar may be used instead of an O₃ gas, it is preferable to usean O₃ gas, which does not contain H.

A facing-target-type sputtering apparatus can be used for deposition ofan oxide semiconductor layer. Deposition using the facing-target-typesputtering apparatus can also be referred to as vapor deposition SP(VDSP).

When an oxide semiconductor layer is deposited using afacing-target-type sputtering apparatus, plasma damage to the oxidesemiconductor layer at the time of deposition can be reduced. Thus,oxygen vacancies in a film can be reduced. In addition, the use of thefacing-target-type sputtering apparatus enables low-pressure deposition.Accordingly, the concentration of impurities (e.g., hydrogen, a rare gas(e.g., argon), or water) in a deposited oxide semiconductor layer can belowered.

The structure described above in this embodiment can be combined withany of the structures described in the other embodiments as appropriate.

Embodiment 4

In this embodiment, the material of an oxide semiconductor that can beused for one embodiment of the present invention will be described.

An oxide semiconductor preferably contains at least indium or zinc. Inparticular, indium and zinc are preferably contained. In addition,aluminum, gallium, yttrium, tin, or the like is preferably contained asan element M. Furthermore, one or more elements selected from boron,silicon, titanium, iron, nickel, germanium, zirconium, molybdenum,lanthanum, cerium, neodymium, hafnium, tantalum, tungsten, magnesium, orthe like may be contained as an element M.

Here, the case where an oxide semiconductor contains indium, an elementM, and zinc is considered.

First, preferred ranges of the atomic ratio of indium, the element M,and zinc contained in an oxide semiconductor of the present inventionare described with reference to FIGS. 25A to 25C. Note that theproportion of oxygen atoms is not shown. The terms of the atomic ratioof indium, the element M, and zinc contained in the oxide semiconductorare denoted by [In], [M], and [Zn], respectively.

In FIGS. 25A to 25C, broken lines indicate a line where the atomic ratio[In]:[M]:[Zn] is (1+α):(1−α):1, where −1≤α≤1, a line where the atomicratio [In]:[M]:[Zn] is (1+α):(1−α):2, a line where the atomic ratio[In]:[M]:[Zn] is (1+α):(1−α):3, a line where the atomic ratio[In]:[M]:[Zn] is (1+α):(1−α):4, and a line where the atomic ratio[In]:[M]:[Zn] is (1+α):(1−α):5.

Dashed-dotted lines indicate a line where the atomic ratio [In]:[M]:[Zn]is 1:1:β, where β≥0, a line where the atomic ratio [In]:[M]:[Zn] is1:2:β, a line where the atomic ratio [In]:[M]:[Zn] is 1:3:β, a linewhere the atomic ratio [In]:[M]:[Zn] is 1:4:β, a line where the atomicratio [In]:[M]:[Zn] is 2:1:β, and a line where the atomic ratio[In]:[M]:[Zn] is 5:1:β.

Furthermore, an oxide semiconductor with the atomic ratio of[In]:[M]:[Zn]=0:2:1 or a neighborhood thereof in FIGS. 25A to 25C tendsto have a spinel crystal structure.

FIGS. 25A and 25B show examples of the preferred ranges of the atomicratio of indium, the element M, and zinc contained in an oxidesemiconductor of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 26 shows an example of the crystal structure of InMZnO₄ whoseatomic ratio [In]:[M]:[Zn] is 1:1:1. The crystal structure shown in FIG.26 is of InMZnO₄ observed from a direction parallel to a b-axis. Notethat a metal element in a layer that contains M, Zn, and oxygen(hereinafter, this layer is referred to as an “(M,Zn) layer”) in FIG. 26represents the element M or zinc. In that case, the proportion of theelement M is the same as the proportion of zinc. The element M and zinccan be replaced with each other, and their arrangement is random.

InMZnO₄ has a layered crystal structure (also referred to as a layeredstructure) and includes one layer that contains indium and oxygen(hereinafter referred to as an In layer) for every two (M,Zn) layersthat contain the element M, zinc, and oxygen, as shown in FIG. 26.

Indium and the element M can be replaced with each other. Therefore,when the element M in the (M,Zn) layer is replaced with indium, thelayer can also be referred to as an (In,M,Zn) layer. In that case, alayered structure that contains one In layer for every two (In,M,Zn)layers is obtained.

An oxide semiconductor whose atomic ratio [In]:[M]:[Zn] is 1:1:2 has alayered structure that contains one In layer for every three (M,Zn)layers. In other words, if [Zn] is higher than [In] and [M], theproportion of the (M,Zn) layer to the In layer becomes higher when theoxide semiconductor is crystallized.

Note that in the case where the number of (M,Zn) layers for every Inlayers is not an integer in the oxide semiconductor, the oxidesemiconductor might have plural kinds of layered structures where thenumber of (M,Zn) layers for every In layers is an integer. For example,in the case of [In]:[M]:[Zn]=1:1:1.5, the oxide semiconductor might havethe following layered structures: a layered structure of one In layerfor every two (M,Zn) layers and a layered structure of one In layer forevery three (M,Zn) layers.

For example, in the case where the oxide semiconductor is deposited witha sputtering apparatus, a film having an atomic ratio deviated from theatomic ratio of a target is formed. In particular, [Zn] in the filmmight be smaller than [Zn] in the target depending on the substratetemperature in deposition.

A plurality of phases (e.g., two phases or three phases) exist in theoxide semiconductor in some cases. For example, with an atomic ratio[In]:[M]:[Zn] that is close to 0:2:1, two phases of a spinel crystalstructure and a layered crystal structure are likely to exist. Inaddition, with an atomic ratio [In]:[M]:[Zn] that is close to 1:0:0, twophases of a bixbyite crystal structure and a layered crystal structureare likely to exist. In the case where a plurality of phases exist inthe oxide semiconductor, a grain boundary might be formed betweendifferent crystal structures.

In addition, the oxide semiconductor containing indium in a higherproportion can have high carrier mobility (electron mobility). This isbecause in an oxide semiconductor containing indium, the element M, andzinc, the s orbital of heavy metal mainly contributes to carriertransfer, and when the indium content in the oxide semiconductor isincreased, overlaps of the s orbitals of indium atoms are increased;therefore, an oxide semiconductor having a high content of indium hashigher carrier mobility than an oxide semiconductor having a low contentof indium.

In contrast, when the indium content and the zinc content in an oxidesemiconductor become lower, carrier mobility becomes lower. Thus, withan atomic ratio of [In]:[M]:[Zn]=0:1:0 and the vicinity thereof (e.g., aregion C in FIG. 25C), insulation performance becomes better.

Accordingly, an oxide semiconductor in one embodiment of the presentinvention preferably has an atomic ratio represented by a region A inFIG. 25A. With the atomic ratio, a layered structure with high carriermobility and a few grain boundaries is easily obtained.

A region B in FIG. 25B represents an atomic ratio of [In]:[M]:[Zn]=4:2:3to 4:2:4.1 and the vicinity thereof. The vicinity includes an atomicratio of [In]:[M]:[Zn]=5:3:4. An oxide semiconductor with an atomicratio represented by the region B is an excellent oxide semiconductorthat has particularly high crystallinity and high carrier mobility.

Note that a condition where an oxide semiconductor forms a layeredstructure is not uniquely determined by an atomic ratio. There is adifference in the degree of difficulty in forming a layered structureamong atomic ratios. Even with the same atomic ratio, whether a layeredstructure is formed or not depends on a formation condition. Therefore,the illustrated regions each represent an atomic ratio with which anoxide semiconductor has a layered structure, and boundaries of theregions A to C are not clear.

Next, the case where the oxide semiconductor is used for a transistor isdescribed.

Note that when the oxide semiconductor is used for a transistor, carrierscattering or the like at a grain boundary can be reduced; thus, thetransistor can have high field-effect mobility. In addition, thetransistor can have high reliability.

An oxide semiconductor with low carrier density is preferably used forthe transistor. For example, an oxide semiconductor whose carrierdensity is lower than 8×10¹¹/cm³, preferably lower than 1×10¹¹/cm³,further preferably lower than 1×10¹⁰/cm³, and greater than or equal to1×10⁻⁹/cm³ is used.

A highly purified intrinsic or substantially highly purified intrinsicoxide semiconductor has few carrier generation sources and thus can havea low carrier density. The highly purified intrinsic or substantiallyhighly purified intrinsic oxide semiconductor has a low density ofdefect states and accordingly has a low density of trap states in somecases.

Charge trapped by the trap states in the oxide semiconductor takes along time to be released and may behave like fixed charge. Thus, atransistor whose channel region is formed in an oxide semiconductorhaving a high density of trap states has unstable electricalcharacteristics in some cases.

In order to obtain stable electrical characteristics of the transistor,it is effective to reduce the concentration of impurities in the oxidesemiconductor. In addition, in order to reduce the concentration ofimpurities in the oxide semiconductor, the concentration of impuritiesin a film that is adjacent to the oxide semiconductor is preferablyreduced. Examples of impurities include hydrogen, nitrogen, alkalimetal, alkaline earth metal, iron, nickel, and silicon.

Here, the influence of impurities in the oxide semiconductor isdescribed.

When silicon or carbon that is one of Group 14 elements is contained inthe oxide semiconductor, defect states are formed. Thus, the oxidesemiconductor is formed to have a region where the concentration ofsilicon or carbon (measured by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS))is controlled to be lower than or equal to 2×10¹⁸ atoms/cm³, preferablylower than or equal to 2×10¹⁷ atoms/cm³ in the oxide semiconductor oraround an interface with the oxide semiconductor.

When the oxide semiconductor contains alkali metal or alkaline earthmetal, defect states are formed and carriers are generated, in somecases. Thus, an OS transistor that contains alkali metal or alkalineearth metal is likely to be normally-on. Therefore, it is preferable toreduce the concentration of alkali metal or alkaline earth metal in theoxide semiconductor. Specifically, the oxide semiconductor is formed tohave a region where the concentration of alkali metal or alkaline earthmetal measured by SIMS is controlled to be lower than or equal to 1×10¹⁸atoms/cm³, preferably lower than or equal to 2×10¹⁶ atoms/cm³.

When the oxide semiconductor contains nitrogen, the oxide semiconductoreasily becomes n-type by generation of electrons serving as carriers andan increase of carrier density. Thus, a transistor whose semiconductorincludes an oxide semiconductor that contains nitrogen is likely to benormally-on. For this reason, nitrogen in the oxide semiconductor ispreferably reduced as much as possible; the oxide semiconductor isformed to have a region where the concentration of nitrogen measured bySIMS is, for example, controlled to be lower than 5×10¹⁹ atoms/cm³,preferably lower than or equal to 5×10¹⁸ atoms/cm³, further preferablylower than or equal to 1×10¹⁸ atoms/cm³, still more preferably lowerthan or equal to 5×10¹⁷ atoms/cm³.

Hydrogen contained in an oxide semiconductor reacts with oxygen bondedto a metal atom to be water, and thus causes an oxygen vacancy, in somecases. Due to entry of hydrogen into the oxygen vacancy, an electronserving as a carrier is generated in some cases. Furthermore, in somecases, bonding of part of hydrogen to oxygen bonded to a metal atomcauses generation of an electron serving as a carrier. Thus, an OStransistor that contains hydrogen is likely to be normally-on.Accordingly, it is preferable that hydrogen in the oxide semiconductorbe reduced as much as possible. Specifically, the oxide semiconductor isformed to have a region where the concentration of hydrogen measured bySIMS is controlled to be lower than 1×10²⁰ atoms/cm³, preferably lowerthan 1×10¹⁹ atoms/cm³, further preferably lower than 5×10¹⁸ atoms/cm³,still further preferably lower than 1×10¹⁸ atoms/cm³.

When an oxide semiconductor with sufficiently reduced impurityconcentration is used for a channel formation region in a transistor,the transistor can have stable electrical characteristics. Thetransistor in which a highly purified oxide semiconductor is used for achannel formation region exhibits extremely low off-state current. Whenvoltage between a source and a drain is set to about 0.1 V, 5 V, or 10V, for example, the off-state current per channel width of thetransistor can be as low as several yoctoamperes per micrometer toseveral zeptoamperes per micrometer.

Next, the case where the oxide semiconductor has a two-layer structureor a three-layer structure is described. A band diagram of insulatorsthat are in contact with a stacked structure of an oxide semiconductorS1, an oxide semiconductor S2, and an oxide semiconductor S3 and a banddiagram of insulators that are in contact with a stacked structure ofthe oxide semiconductor S2 and the oxide semiconductor S3 are describedwith reference to FIGS. 27A and 27B. Note that the oxide semiconductorS1, the oxide semiconductor S2, and the oxide semiconductor S3correspond to the oxide semiconductor layer 130 a, the oxidesemiconductor layer 130 b, and the oxide semiconductor layer 130 c,respectively.

FIG. 27A is an example of a band diagram of a stacked structureincluding an insulator I1, the oxide semiconductor S1, the oxidesemiconductor S2, the oxide semiconductor S3, and an insulator I2 in afilm thickness direction. FIG. 27B is an example of a band diagram of astacked structure including the insulator I1, the oxide semiconductorS2, the oxide semiconductor S3, and the insulator I2 in a film thicknessdirection. Note that for easy understanding, the band diagrams show theenergy level of the conduction band minimum (Ec) of each of theinsulator I1, the oxide semiconductor S1, the oxide semiconductor S2,the oxide semiconductor S3, and the insulator I2.

The energy level of the conduction band minimum of each of the oxidesemiconductors S1 and S3 is closer to the vacuum level than that of theoxide semiconductor S2. Typically, a difference in energy level betweenthe conduction band minimum of the oxide semiconductor S2 and theconduction band minimum of each of the oxide semiconductors S1 and S3 ispreferably greater than or equal to 0.15 eV or greater than or equal to0.5 eV, and less than or equal to 2 eV or less than or equal to 1 eV.That is, the electron affinity of the oxide semiconductor S2 is higherthan the electron affinity of each of the oxide semiconductors S1 andS3, and the difference between the electron affinity of each of theoxide semiconductors S1 and S3 and the electron affinity of the oxidesemiconductor S2 is greater than or equal to 0.15 eV or greater than orequal to 0.5 eV, and less than or equal to 2 eV or less than or equal to1 eV.

As shown in FIGS. 27A and 27B, the energy level of the conduction bandminimum of each of the oxide semiconductors S1 to S3 is graduallyvaried. In other words, the energy level of the conduction band minimumis continuously varied or continuously connected. In order to obtainsuch a band diagram, the density of defect states in a mixed layerformed at an interface between the oxide semiconductors S1 and S2 or aninterface between the oxide semiconductors S2 and S3 is preferably madelow.

Specifically, when the oxide semiconductors S1 and S2 or the oxidesemiconductors S2 and S3 contain the same element (as a main component)in addition to oxygen, a mixed layer with a low density of defect statescan be formed. For example, in the case where the oxide semiconductor S2is an In—Ga—Zn oxide semiconductor, it is preferable to use an In—Ga—Znoxide semiconductor, a Ga—Zn oxide semiconductor, gallium oxide, or thelike as each of the oxide semiconductors S1 and S3.

At this time, the oxide semiconductor S2 serves as a main carrier path.Since the density of defect states at the interface between the oxidesemiconductors S1 and S2 and the interface between the oxidesemiconductors S2 and S3 can be made low, the influence of interfacescattering on carrier conduction is small, and high on-state current canbe obtained.

When an electron is trapped in a trap state, the trapped electronbehaves like fixed charge; thus, the threshold voltage of the transistoris shifted in a positive direction. The oxide semiconductors S1 and S3can make the trap state apart from the oxide semiconductor S2. Thisstructure can prevent the positive shift of the threshold voltage of thetransistor.

A material whose conductivity is sufficiently lower than that of theoxide semiconductor S2 is used for the oxide semiconductors S1 and S3.In that case, the oxide semiconductor S2, the interface between theoxide semiconductors S1 and S2, and the interface between the oxidesemiconductors S2 and S3 mainly function as a channel region. Forexample, an oxide semiconductor with high insulation performance and theatomic ratio represented by the region C in FIG. 25C may be used as theoxide semiconductors S1 and S3.

In the case where an oxide semiconductor with the atomic ratiorepresented by the region A is used as the oxide semiconductor S2, it isparticularly preferable to use an oxide semiconductor with an atomicratio where [M]/[In] is greater than or equal to 1, preferably greaterthan or equal to 2 as each of the oxide semiconductors S1 and S3. Inaddition, it is suitable to use an oxide semiconductor with sufficientlyhigh insulation performance and an atomic ratio where [M]/([Zn]+[In]) isgreater than or equal to 1 as the oxide semiconductor S3.

The structure described above in this embodiment can be combined withany of the structures described in the other embodiments as appropriate.

Embodiment 5

The structure of an oxide semiconductor that can be used for oneembodiment of the present invention is described below.

In this specification, the term “parallel” indicates that the angleformed between two straight lines is greater than or equal to −10° andless than or equal to 10°, and accordingly includes the case where theangle is greater than or equal to −5° and less than or equal to 5°. Theterm “perpendicular” indicates that the angle formed between twostraight lines is greater than or equal to 80° and less than or equal to100°, and accordingly includes the case where the angle is greater thanor equal to 85° and less than or equal to 95°.

In this specification, the trigonal and rhombohedral crystal systems areincluded in the hexagonal crystal system.

<Structure of Oxide Semiconductor>

The structure of an oxide semiconductor is described below.

An oxide semiconductor is classified into a single crystal oxidesemiconductor and a non-single-crystal oxide semiconductor. Examples ofa non-single-crystal oxide semiconductor include a c-axis alignedcrystalline oxide semiconductor (CAAC-OS), a polycrystalline oxidesemiconductor, a nanocrystalline oxide semiconductor (nc-OS), anamorphous-like oxide semiconductor (a-like OS), and an amorphous oxidesemiconductor.

From another perspective, an oxide semiconductor is classified into anamorphous oxide semiconductor and a crystalline oxide semiconductor.Examples of a crystalline oxide semiconductor include a single crystaloxide semiconductor, a CAAC-OS, a polycrystalline oxide semiconductor,and an nc-OS.

An amorphous structure is generally thought to be isotropic and have nonon-uniform structure, to be metastable and not have fixed positions ofatoms, to have a flexible bond angle, and to have a short-range orderbut have no long-range order, for example.

This means that a stable oxide semiconductor cannot be regarded as acompletely amorphous oxide semiconductor. Moreover, an oxidesemiconductor that is not isotropic (e.g., an oxide semiconductor thathas a periodic structure in a microscopic region) cannot be regarded asa completely amorphous oxide semiconductor. In contrast, an a-like OS,which is not isotropic, has an unstable structure that contains a void.Because of its instability, an a-like OS is close to an amorphous oxidesemiconductor in terms of physical properties.

<CAAC-OS>

First, a CAAC-OS is described.

A CAAC-OS is one of oxide semiconductors having a plurality of c-axisaligned crystal parts (also referred to as pellets).

Analysis of a CAAC-OS by X-ray diffraction (XRD) is described. Forexample, when the structure of a CAAC-OS including an InGaZnO₄ crystalthat is classified into the space group R-3m is analyzed by anout-of-plane method, a peak appears at a diffraction angle (2θ) ofaround 31° as shown in FIG. 28A. This peak is derived from the (009)plane of the InGaZnO₄ crystal, which indicates that crystals in theCAAC-OS have c-axis alignment, and that the c-axes are aligned in adirection substantially perpendicular to a surface over which theCAAC-OS film is formed (also referred to as a formation surface) or thetop surface of the CAAC-OS film. Note that a peak sometimes appears at a2θ of around 36° in addition to the peak at a 2θ of around 31°. The peakat a 2θ of around 36° is derived from a crystal structure that isclassified into the space group Fd-3m; thus, this peak is preferably notexhibited in a CAAC-OS.

On the other hand, in structural analysis of the CAAC-OS by an in-planemethod in which an X-ray is incident on the CAAC-OS in a directionparallel to the formation surface, a peak appears at a 2θ of around 56°.This peak is derived from the (110) plane of the InGaZnO₄ crystal. Whenanalysis (ϕ scan) is performed with 2θ fixed at around 56° and with thesample rotated using a normal vector to the sample surface as an axis (ϕaxis), as shown in FIG. 28B, a peak is not clearly observed. Incontrast, in the case where single crystal InGaZnO₄ is subjected to ϕscan with 2θ fixed at around 56°, as shown in FIG. 28C, six peaks whichare derived from crystal planes equivalent to the (110) plane areobserved. Accordingly, the structural analysis using XRD shows that thedirections of a-axes and b-axes are irregularly oriented in the CAAC-OS.

Next, a CAAC-OS analyzed by electron diffraction is described. Forexample, when an electron beam with a probe diameter of 300 nm isincident on a CAAC-OS including an InGaZnO₄ crystal in a directionparallel to the formation surface of the CAAC-OS, a diffraction pattern(also referred to as a selected-area electron diffraction pattern) shownin FIG. 28D can be obtained. In this diffraction pattern, spots derivedfrom the (009) plane of an InGaZnO₄ crystal are included. Thus, theelectron diffraction also indicates that pellets included in the CAAC-OShave c-axis alignment and that the c-axes are aligned in a directionsubstantially perpendicular to the formation surface or the top surfaceof the CAAC-OS. Meanwhile, FIG. 28E shows a diffraction pattern obtainedin such a manner that an electron beam with a probe diameter of 300 nmis incident on the same sample in a direction perpendicular to thesample surface. As shown in FIG. 28E, a ring-like diffraction pattern isobserved. Thus, the electron diffraction using an electron beam with aprobe diameter of 300 nm also indicates that the a-axes and b-axes ofthe pellets included in the CAAC-OS do not have regular orientation. Thefirst ring in FIG. 28E is considered to be derived from the (010) plane,the (100) plane, and the like of the InGaZnO₄ crystal. The second ringin FIG. 28E is considered to be derived from the (110) plane and thelike.

In a combined analysis image (also referred to as a high-resolution TEMimage) of a bright-field image and a diffraction pattern of a CAAC-OS,which is obtained using a transmission electron microscope (TEM), aplurality of pellets can be observed. However, even in thehigh-resolution TEM image, a boundary between pellets, that is, a grainboundary is not clearly observed in some cases. Thus, in the CAAC-OS, areduction in electron mobility due to the grain boundary is less likelyto occur.

FIG. 29A shows a high-resolution TEM image of a cross section of theCAAC-OS that is observed from a direction substantially parallel to thesample surface. The high-resolution TEM image is obtained with aspherical aberration corrector function. The high-resolution TEM imageobtained with a spherical aberration corrector function is particularlyreferred to as a Cs-corrected high-resolution TEM image. TheCs-corrected high-resolution TEM image can be observed with, forexample, an atomic resolution analytical electron microscope JEM-ARM200Fmanufactured by JEOL Ltd.

FIG. 29A shows pellets in which metal atoms are arranged in a layeredmanner. FIG. 29A proves that the size of a pellet is greater than orequal to 1 nm or greater than or equal to 3 nm. Therefore, the pelletcan also be referred to as a nanocrystal (nc). Furthermore, the CAAC-OScan also be referred to as an oxide semiconductor including c-axisaligned nanocrystals (CANC). A pellet reflects unevenness of a formationsurface or a top surface of the CAAC-OS, and is parallel to theformation surface or the top surface of the CAAC-OS.

FIGS. 29B and 29C show Cs-corrected high-resolution TEM images of aplane of the CAAC-OS observed from a direction substantiallyperpendicular to the sample surface. FIGS. 29D and 29E are imagesobtained through image processing of FIGS. 29B and 29C. The method ofimage processing is as follows. The image in FIG. 29B is subjected tofast Fourier transform (FFT), so that an FFT image is obtained. Then,mask processing is performed such that a range of from 2.8 nm⁻¹ to 5.0nm⁻¹ from the origin in the obtained FFT image remains. After the maskprocessing, the FFT image is processed by inverse fast Fourier transform(IFFT) to obtain a processed image. The image obtained in this manner iscalled an FFT filtering image. The FFT filtering image is a Cs-correctedhigh-resolution TEM image from which a periodic component is extracted,and shows a lattice arrangement.

In FIG. 29D, a portion where a lattice arrangement is broken is shown bya dashed line. A region surrounded by a dashed line is one pellet. Theportion shown by the dashed line is a junction of pellets. The dashedline draws a hexagon, which means that the pellet has a hexagonal shape.Note that the shape of the pellet is not always a regular hexagon but isa non-regular hexagon in many cases.

In FIG. 29E, a dotted line denotes a portion between a region where alattice arrangement is well aligned and another region where a latticearrangement is well aligned. A clear crystal grain boundary cannot beobserved even in the vicinity of the dotted line. When a lattice pointin the vicinity of the dotted line is regarded as a center andsurrounding lattice points are joined, a distorted hexagon, pentagon,and/or heptagon can be formed, for example. That is, a latticearrangement is distorted so that formation of a crystal grain boundaryis inhibited. This is probably because the CAAC-OS can toleratedistortion owing to a low density of interatomic distance in an a-bplane direction, an interatomic distance changed by substitution of ametal element, and the like.

As described above, the CAAC-OS has c-axis alignment, its pellets(nanocrystals) are connected in an a-b plane direction, and the crystalstructure has distortion. For this reason, the CAAC-OS can also bereferred to as an oxide semiconductor including a c-axis-aligneda-b-plane-anchored (CAA) crystal.

The CAAC-OS is an oxide semiconductor with high crystallinity. Entry ofimpurities, formation of defects, or the like might decrease thecrystallinity of an oxide semiconductor. This means that the CAAC-OS hassmall amounts of impurities and defects (e.g., oxygen vacancies).

Note that the impurity means an element other than the main componentsof the oxide semiconductor, such as hydrogen, carbon, silicon, or atransition metal element. For example, an element (specifically, siliconor the like) having higher strength of bonding to oxygen than a metalelement included in an oxide semiconductor extracts oxygen from theoxide semiconductor, which results in disorder of the atomic arrangementand reduced crystallinity of the oxide semiconductor. A heavy metal suchas iron or nickel, argon, carbon dioxide, or the like has a large atomicradius (or molecular radius), and thus disturbs the atomic arrangementof the oxide semiconductor and decreases crystallinity.

The characteristics of an oxide semiconductor having impurities ordefects might be changed by light, heat, or the like. Impuritiescontained in the oxide semiconductor might serve as carrier traps orcarrier generation sources, for example. For example, oxygen vacanciesin the oxide semiconductor serve as carrier traps or serve as carriergeneration sources when hydrogen is captured therein.

The CAAC-OS having small amounts of impurities and oxygen vacancies isan oxide semiconductor with low carrier density (specifically, lowerthan 8×10¹¹ cm⁻³, preferably lower than 1×10¹¹ cm⁻³, further preferablylower than 1×10¹⁰ cm⁻³, and is higher than or equal to 1×10⁻⁹ cm⁻³).Such an oxide semiconductor is referred to as a highly purifiedintrinsic or substantially highly purified intrinsic oxidesemiconductor. A CAAC-OS has a low impurity concentration and a lowdensity of defect states. That is, the CAAC-OS can be referred to as anoxide semiconductor having stable characteristics.

<nc-OS>

Next, an nc-OS is described.

Analysis of an nc-OS by XRD is described. When the structure of an nc-OSis analyzed by an out-of-plane method, for example, a peak indicatingorientation does not appear. That is, a crystal of an nc-OS does nothave orientation.

For example, when an electron beam with a probe diameter of 50 nm isincident on a 34-nm-thick region of a thinned nc-OS including anInGaZnO₄ crystal in a direction parallel to the formation surface, aring-shaped diffraction pattern (nanobeam electron diffraction pattern)shown in FIG. 30A is observed. FIG. 30B shows a diffraction patternobtained when an electron beam with a probe diameter of 1 nm is incidenton the same sample. As shown in FIG. 30B, a plurality of spots areobserved in a ring-like region. In other words, ordering in an nc-OS isnot observed with an electron beam with a probe diameter of 50 nm but isobserved with an electron beam with a probe diameter of 1 nm.

Furthermore, an electron diffraction pattern in which spots are arrangedin an approximately regular hexagonal shape is observed in some cases asshown in FIG. 30C when an electron beam having a probe diameter of 1 nmis incident on a region with a thickness of less than 10 nm. This meansthat an nc-OS has a well-ordered region, i.e., a crystal, in the rangeof less than 10 nm in thickness. Note that an electron diffractionpattern having regularity is not observed in some regions becausecrystals are aligned in various directions.

FIG. 30D shows a Cs-corrected high-resolution TEM image of a crosssection of an nc-OS observed from the direction substantially parallelto the formation surface. In a high-resolution TEM image, an nc-OS has aregion in which a crystal part is observed, such as a part indicated byadditional lines in FIG. 30D, and a region in which a crystal part isnot clearly observed. In most cases, the size of a crystal part includedin the nc-OS is greater than or equal to 1 nm and less than or equal to10 nm, or specifically, greater than or equal to 1 nm and less than orequal to 3 nm. Note that an oxide semiconductor including a crystal partwhose size is greater than 10 nm and less than or equal to 100 nm issometimes referred to as a microcrystalline oxide semiconductor. In ahigh-resolution TEM image of the nc-OS, for example, a grain boundary isnot clearly observed in some cases. Note that there is a possibilitythat the origin of the nanocrystal is the same as that of a pellet in aCAAC-OS. Therefore, a crystal part of the nc-OS might be referred to asa pellet in the following description.

As described above, in the nc-OS, a microscopic region (for example, aregion with a size greater than or equal to 1 nm and less than or equalto 10 nm, in particular, a region with a size greater than or equal to 1nm and less than or equal to 3 nm) has a periodic atomic arrangement.There is no regularity of crystal orientation between different pelletsin the nc-OS. Thus, the orientation of the whole film is not observed.Accordingly, the nc-OS cannot be distinguished from an a-like OS or anamorphous oxide semiconductor, depending on an analysis method.

Since there is no regularity of crystal orientation between the pellets(nanocrystals), the nc-OS can also be referred to as an oxidesemiconductor including random aligned nanocrystals (RANC) or an oxidesemiconductor including non-aligned nanocrystals (NANC).

The nc-OS is an oxide semiconductor that has high regularity than anamorphous oxide semiconductor. Thus, the nc-OS has a lower density ofdefect states than the a-like OS and the amorphous oxide semiconductor.Note that there is no regularity of crystal orientation betweendifferent pellets in the nc-OS: thus, the nc-OS has a higher density ofdefect states than the CAAC-OS.

<A-Like OS>

An a-like OS is an oxide semiconductor having a structure between thenc-OS and the amorphous oxide semiconductor.

FIGS. 31A and 31B are high-resolution cross-sectional TEM images of ana-like OS. FIG. 31A is the high-resolution cross-sectional TEM image ofthe a-like OS at the start of electron irradiation. FIG. 31B is thehigh-resolution cross-sectional TEM image of a-like OS after electron(e⁻) irradiation at 4.3×10⁸ e⁻/nm². FIGS. 31A and 31B show thatstripe-like bright regions extending vertically are observed in thea-like OS from the start of electron irradiation. It can be also foundthat the shape of the bright region changes after electron irradiation.Note that the bright region is presumably a void or a low-densityregion.

The a-like OS has an unstable structure because it contains a void. Toverify that an a-like OS has an unstable structure as compared with aCAAC-OS and an nc-OS, a change in structure caused by electronirradiation is described below.

An a-like OS, an nc-OS, and a CAAC-OS are prepared as samples. Each ofthe samples is an In—Ga—Zn oxide.

First, a high-resolution cross-sectional TEM image of each sample isobtained. The high-resolution cross-sectional TEM images show that allthe samples have crystal parts.

Note that it is known that a unit cell of the InGaZnO₄ crystal has astructure in which nine layers including three In—O layers and sixGa—Zn—O layers are stacked in the c-axis direction. The distance betweenthe adjacent layers is equivalent to the lattice spacing on the (009)plane (also referred to as a d value). The value is calculated to be0.29 nm from crystal structural analysis. Accordingly, a portion wherethe spacing between lattice fringes is greater than or equal to 0.28 nmand less than or equal to 0.30 nm is regarded as a crystal part ofInGaZnO₄ in the following description. Each of lattice fringescorresponds to the a-b plane of the InGaZnO₄ crystal.

FIG. 32 shows changes in the average size of crystal parts (at 22 to 30points) in each sample. Note that the crystal part size corresponds tothe length of the lattice fringe. FIG. 32 indicates that the crystalpart size in the a-like OS increases with an increase in the cumulativeelectron dose in obtaining TEM images, for example. As shown in FIG. 32,a crystal part of approximately 1.2 nm (also referred to as an initialnucleus) at the start of TEM observation grows to a size ofapproximately 1.9 nm at a cumulative electron (e⁻) dose of 4.2×10⁸e⁻/nm². In contrast, the crystal part sizes in the nc-OS and the CAAC-OSshow little change from the start of electron irradiation to acumulative electron dose of 4.2×10⁸ e⁻/nm². As shown in FIG. 32, thecrystal part sizes in the nc-OS and the CAAC-OS are approximately 1.3 nmand approximately 1.8 nm, respectively, regardless of the cumulativeelectron dose. For electron beam irradiation and TEM observation, aHitachi H-9000NAR transmission electron microscope was used. Theconditions of electron beam irradiation were as follows: acceleratingvoltage was 300 kV: current density was 6.7×10⁵ e⁻/(nm²·s); and thediameter of an irradiation region was 230 nm.

In this manner, growth of the crystal part in the a-like OS is inducedby electron irradiation. In contrast, in the nc-OS and the CAAC-OS,growth of the crystal part is hardly induced by electron irradiation.Therefore, the a-like OS has an unstable structure as compared with thenc-OS and the CAAC-OS.

The a-like OS has lower density than the nc-OS and the CAAC-OS becauseit contains a void. Specifically, the density of the a-like OS is higherthan or equal to 78.6% and lower than 92.3% of the density of the singlecrystal oxide semiconductor having the same composition. The density ofeach of the nc-OS and the CAAC-OS is higher than or equal to 92.3% andlower than 100% of the density of the single crystal oxide semiconductorhaving the same composition. It is difficult to deposit an oxidesemiconductor whose density is lower than 78% of the density of thesingle crystal oxide semiconductor.

For example, in the case of an oxide semiconductor with an atomic ratioof In:Ga:Zn=1:1:1, the density of single-crystal InGaZnO₄ with arhombohedral crystal structure is 6.357 g/cm³. Thus, for example, in thecase of the oxide semiconductor with an atomic ratio of In:Ga:Zn=1:1:1,the density of an a-like OS is higher than or equal to 5.0 g/cm³ andlower than 5.9 g/cm³. In addition, for example, in the case of the oxidesemiconductor with an atomic ratio of In:Ga:Zn=1:1:1, the density of annc-OS or a CAAC-OS is higher than or equal to 5.9 g/cm³ and lower than6.3 g/cm³.

Note that in the case where single crystal oxide semiconductors with thesame composition do not exist, by combining single crystal oxidesemiconductors with different compositions at a given proportion, it ispossible to estimate density that corresponds to the density of a singlecrystal oxide semiconductor with a desired composition. The density ofthe single crystal oxide semiconductor with a desired composition may beestimated using weighted average with respect to the combination ratioof the single crystal oxide semiconductors with different compositions.Note that it is preferable to combine as few kinds of single crystaloxide semiconductors as possible for density estimation.

As described above, oxide semiconductors have various structures andvarious properties. An oxide semiconductor may be a stacked filmincluding two or more of an amorphous oxide semiconductor, an a-like OS,an nc-OS, and a CAAC-OS, for example.

The structure described in this embodiment can be used in appropriatecombination with any of the structures described in the otherembodiments.

Embodiment 6

In this embodiment, an example of a semiconductor device in which theoscillator of one embodiment of the present invention or the PLLincluding the oscillator is used as a generator circuit of a clocksignal will be described.

The PLL can be incorporated in a processing unit, for example, and canfunction as a clock generator circuit. Examples of the processing unitinclude a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit(GPU), a programmable logic device (PLD), a digital signal processor(DSP), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a custom LSI, and a wireless ICthat can send and receive data wirelessly.

FIG. 33 shows an example of a wireless IC. The wireless IC may bereferred to as a wireless chip, an RFIC, an RF chip, or the like. Acarrier wave or a clock signal synchronized with a demodulated signalcan be generated, for example, by incorporating a PLL in a wireless IC.

A wireless IC 1000 illustrated in FIG. 33 includes a rectifier circuit1001, a power supply circuit 1002, a demodulation circuit 1003, amodulation circuit 1004, a PLL 1005, a logic circuit 1006, a memorydevice 1007, and a read-only memory (ROM) 1008. Decision whether each ofthese circuits is provided or not can be made as appropriate as needed.The wireless IC 1000 is electrically connected to an antenna 1010. Forthe PLL 1005, the oscillator of one embodiment of the present inventionor a PLL including the oscillator can be used.

The kind of the wireless IC 1000 of this embodiment is not specificallylimited. In FIG. 33, the wireless IC 1000 is a passive wireless IC as anexample; however, the wireless IC 1000 may be an active wireless IC witha built-in battery. A communication method of the wireless IC 1000, astructure of the antenna 1010, and the like can be determined dependingon a frequency band to be used.

The antenna 1010 exchanges a radio signal 1013 with the antenna 1011which is connected to an interrogator 1012. The antenna 1010 hasperformance corresponding to its communication zone. As datatransmission methods, the following methods can be given: anelectromagnetic coupling method in which a pair of coils is provided soas to face each other and communicates with each other by mutualinduction, an electromagnetic induction method in which communication isperformed using an induction field, and a radio wave method in whichcommunication is performed using a radio wave.

The rectifier circuit 1001 generates an input potential byrectification, for example, half-wave voltage doubler rectification ofan input alternating signal generated by reception of a radio signal atthe antenna 1010 and smoothing of the rectified signal with a capacitorelement provided in a lower stage. A limiter circuit may be provided onan input side or an output side of the rectifier circuit 1001. Thelimiter circuit controls electric power so that electric power which ishigher than or equal to certain electric power is not input to a circuitin a later stage if the amplitude of the input alternating signal ishigh and an internal generation voltage is high.

The power supply circuit 1002 generates a stable power supply voltagefrom an input potential and supplies it to each circuit. The powersupply circuit 1002 may include a reset signal generator circuit. Thereset signal generator circuit is a circuit which generates a resetsignal of the logic circuit 1006 by utilizing rise of the stable powersupply voltage.

The demodulation circuit 1003 demodulates the input alternating signalby envelope detection and generates a demodulated signal. The modulationcircuit 1004 performs modulation in accordance with data to be outputfrom the antenna 1010. The PLL 1005 is a circuit for generating a clocksignal synchronized with the demodulated signal.

The logic circuit 1006 has a function of decoding the demodulated signaland performing processing based on the decoded result. The logic circuit1006 includes, for example, a code recognition/determination circuit, anencoding circuit, and the like. The code recognition/determinationcircuit analyzes a code of the demodulated signal based on a clocksignal to obtain its corresponding data. The logic circuit 1006communicates data with the memory device 1007 in accordance with theanalyzed code. The data output from the memory device 1007 is encoded inthe encoding circuit. An encoded signal is output to the modulationcircuit 1004.

The memory device 1007 includes a row decoder, a column decoder, amemory region, and the like and stores input data. The ROM 1008 storesan identification number (ID) and the like and outputs data inaccordance with the processing of the logic circuit 1006.

FIG. 34 illustrates an example of a programmable logic device (PLD). APLD 1050 in FIG. 34 includes an input output (I/O) element 1051, arandom access memory (RAM) 1052, a multiplier 1053, a PLL 1054, and aprogrammable logic element (PLE) 1055. The I/O element 1051 functions asan interface that controls input of a signal from a circuit outside thePLD 1050 or output of a signal to the circuit outside the PLD 1050. ThePLL 1054 has a function of generating a clock signal. The RAM 1052 has afunction of storing data used for a logical operation. The multiplier1053 corresponds to a logic circuit for multiplication only. When thePLD 1050 includes a function of executing multiplication, the multiplier1053 is not necessarily provided.

FIG. 35 illustrates an example of a microcontroller unit (MCU) 1070. TheMCU 1070 includes a CPU core 1071, a power source management unit (PMU)1072, a power gate 1073, a timer 1074, a PLL 1075, an analog-digitalconverter (ADC) 1081, a watchdog timer 1082, a ROM 1083, a nonvolatilememory (NVM) 1084, a power supply circuit 1085, an interface (IF)element 1086, and the like.

The PLL 1075 generates a clock signal and outputs it to internalcircuits such as the CPU core 1071 and the timer 1074. The CPU core 1071and the timer 1074 have a function of performing processing using theclock signal. The PMU 1072 controls the power gate 1073 and controls thesupply of the power supply voltage VDD to the internal circuit of theMCU 1070. The VDD can be supplied to the timer 1074 and the PLL 1075without passing through the power gate 1073. The PMU 1072 controls thepower gate 1073 so as to stop supply of power to the internal circuitthat does not need to operate.

FIG. 35 shows an example in which the MCU 1070 controls the wirelessmodule 1080 capable of wireless communication. A semiconductor devicesuch as a sensor unit or the like is connected to the ADC 1081. The MCU1070 is capable of processing a signal input to the ADC 1081 andperforming control so that the wireless module 1080 transmits theprocessed result to the other wireless modules. Alternatively, the MCU1070 is capable of processing a received signal of the wireless module1080 and performing control so that the wireless module 1080 transmitsthe processed result to the other wireless module.

The power gate 1073 is turned on by the PMU 1072, whereby the CPU core1071, the watchdog timer 1082, the ROM 1083, the power supply circuit1085, and the IF element 1086 operate. Data that is arithmeticallyprocessed in the CPU core 1071 is output to the wireless module 1080 viathe IF element 1086. The wireless module 1080 wirelessly transmits data.An output signal of the wireless module 1080 is input to the ADC 1081via the IF element 1086. The ADC 1081 converts the input signal to adigital signal and outputs it to the CPU core 1071. The input signal isarithmetically processed by the CPU core 1071. The signal that isarithmetically processed is output to the wireless module 1080 via theIF element 1086. The wireless module 1080 wirelessly transmits the data.After the transmission, the PMU 1072 turns off the power gate 1073, andstops supply of power to the CPU core 1071 and the like. After thesupply of power is stopped, the PMU 1072 controls the timer 1074, andstarts time measurement. When the time measurement of the timer 1074reaches a set value, the PMU 1072 restarts the supply of power to theCPU core 1071 and the like by turning on the power gate 1073 again.

FIG. 36 shows an example of a display device. FIG. 36 is an explodedperspective view of the display device. The PLL is incorporated so thata clock signal is supplied to a driver circuit of a display device.

In a display device 1400 illustrated in FIG. 36, a touch panel unit 1424connected to an FPC 1423, a display panel 1410 connected to an FPC 1425,a backlight unit 1426, a frame 1428, a printed board 1429, and a battery1430 are provided between an upper cover 1421 and a lower cover 1422.Note that the backlight unit 1426, the battery 1430, the touch panelunit 1424, and the like are not provided in some cases. For example, inthe case where the display device 1400 is a reflective liquid crystaldisplay device or an electroluminescent (EL) display device, thebacklight unit 1426 is unnecessary. The display device 1400 may beadditionally provided with a member such as a polarizing plate, aretardation plate, or a prism sheet.

The shapes and sizes of the upper cover 1421 and the lower cover 1422can be changed as appropriate in accordance with the sizes of the touchpanel unit 1424 and the display panel 1410.

The touch panel unit 1424 can be a resistive touch panel or a capacitivetouch panel and may be formed so as to overlap the display panel 1410. Acounter substrate (sealing substrate) of the display panel 1410 can havea touch panel function. Alternatively, a photosensor may be provided ineach pixel of the display panel 1410 to form an optical touch panel. Anelectrode for a touch sensor may be provided in each pixel of thedisplay panel 1410 so that a capacitive touch panel is obtained.

The backlight unit 1426 includes a light source 1427. The light source1427 may be provided at an end portion of the backlight unit 1426 and alight diffusing plate may be used.

The frame 1428 protects the display panel 1410 and functions as anelectromagnetic shield for blocking electromagnetic waves generated bythe operation of the printed board 1429. The frame 1428 may function asa radiator plate.

The printed board 1429 is provided with a power supply circuit and asignal processing circuit for outputting a video signal and a clocksignal. The PLL is incorporated in the signal processing circuit. Aclock signal generated in the PLL is supplied to the driver circuit ofthe display panel 1410, and the driver circuit of the touch panel unit1424. As a power source for supplying power to the power supply circuit,an external commercial power source or a power source using the battery1430 provided separately may be used. The battery 1430 can be omitted inthe case of using a commercial power source.

An imaging device 1500 in FIG. 37A includes a pixel portion 1510, adriver circuit 1521, a driver circuit 1522, a driver circuit 1523, and adriver circuit 1524. The PLL can be incorporated in an imaging device.The PLL generates a clock signal in a driver circuit for driving a pixelportion.

The pixel portion 1510 includes a plurality of pixels 1511 (imagingelements) arranged in matrix with p rows and q columns (p and q are eachan integer greater than or equal to 2). The driver circuits 1521 to 1524are each electrically connected to the pixel portion 1510 and supplysignals for driving the pixel portion 1510. The pixels 1511 includephotoelectric conversion elements and pixel circuits. The pixel circuithas a function of generating an analog signal corresponding to theamount of light received by the photoelectric conversion element.

For example, the driver circuit 1522 or the driver circuit 1523 has afunction of generating and outputting a selection signal for selecting apixel 1511 from which a signal is read. Note that the driver circuit1522 or the driver circuit 1523 is referred to as a row selectioncircuit or a vertical driver circuit in some cases. At least one of thedriver circuits 1521 to 1524 may be omitted. For example, one of thedriver circuit 1521 and the driver circuit 1524 may be omitted, and thefunction of the omitted driver circuit may be added to the other drivercircuit. For example, one of the driver circuit 1522 and the drivercircuit 1523 may be omitted, and the function of the omitted drivercircuit may be added to the other driver circuit. For example, one ofthe driver circuits 1521 to 1524 may have the functions of all of thedriver circuits 1521 to 1524, and the other driver circuits may beomitted.

For example, the driver circuit 1521 or the driver circuit 1524 has afunction of processing an analog signal output from the pixels 1511. Forexample, FIG. 37B shows a configuration example of the driver circuit1521. The driver circuit 1521 in FIG. 37B may include a signalprocessing circuit 1531, a column driver circuit 1532, an output circuit1533, and the like.

The signal processing circuit 1531 includes a circuit 1534 provided foreach column. The circuit 1534 can have a function of performing signalprocessing such as removal of noise and analog-digital conversion. Thecircuit 1534 shown in FIG. 37B has a function of analog-digitalconversion. The signal processing circuit 1531 can function as acolumn-parallel (column type) analog-digital conversion device.

The circuit 1534 includes a comparator 1541 and a counter circuit 1542.The comparator 1541 has a function of comparing potentials of an analogsignal input from a wiring 1540 that is provided in each column and areference potential signal (e.g., a ramp wave signal) input from awiring 1537. A clock signal is input to a wiring 1538 from the PLL. Thecounter circuit 1542 has a function of measuring the length of a periodduring which a first value is output by the comparison operation in thecomparator 1541 and holding the measurement result as an N-bit digitalvalue.

The column driver circuit 1532 is also referred to as a column selectioncircuit, a horizontal driver circuit, or the like. The column drivercircuit 1532 generates a selection signal for selecting a column fromwhich a signal is read. The column driver circuit 1532 can be formedusing a shift register or the like. Columns are sequentially selected bythe column driver circuit 1532, and an output signal from the circuit1534 in the selected column is input to the output circuit 1533 via awiring 1539. The wiring 1539 can function as a horizontal transfer line.

A signal input to the output circuit 1533 is processed in the outputcircuit 1533, and is output outside the imaging device 1500. The outputcircuit 1533 can be formed using a buffer circuit, for example. Theoutput circuit 1533 may have a function of controlling the timing atwhich a signal is output outside the imaging device 1500.

The variety of processing units and the semiconductor device such as adisplay device can be incorporated in various electronic devices. Forexample, when the wireless IC in FIG. 33 is incorporated in anelectronic device, the electronic device can have a wirelesscommunication function. For example, when the display device in FIG. 36is incorporated in an electronic device, the electronic device can havean information display function. For example, the imaging device inFIGS. 37A and 37B is incorporated in an electronic device, theelectronic device can have an imaging function.

Examples of an electronic device include display devices, personalcomputers, image memory devices or image reproducing devices providedwith storage media, mobile phones, game machines (including portablegame consoles), portable information terminals, e-book readers, camerassuch as video cameras and digital still cameras, goggle-type displays(head mounted displays), navigation systems, audio reproducing devices(e.g., car audio systems and digital audio players), copiers,facsimiles, printers, multifunction printers, automated teller machines(ATM), and vending machines. FIGS. 38A to 38F illustrate specificexamples of these electronic devices.

FIG. 38A illustrates a portable game console, which includes a housing901, a housing 902, a display portion 903, a display portion 904, amicrophone 905, a speaker 906, an operation key 907, a stylus 908, acamera 909, and the like. Although the portable game console in FIG. 38Ahas the two display portions 903 and 904, the number of display portionsincluded in a portable game console is not limited to this.

FIG. 38B illustrates a video camera, which includes a first housing 911,a second housing 912, a display portion 913, operation keys 914, a lens915, a joint 916, and the like. The operation keys 914 and the lens 915are provided for the first housing 911, and the display portion 913 isprovided for the second housing 912. The first housing 911 and thesecond housing 912 are connected to each other with the joint 916, andthe angle between the first housing 911 and the second housing 912 canbe changed with the joint 916. An image on the display portion 913 maybe switched depending on the angle between the first housing 911 and thesecond housing 912 at the joint 916.

FIG. 38C illustrates a laptop personal computer, which includes ahousing 921, a display portion 922, a keyboard 923, a pointing device924, and the like.

FIG. 38D illustrates a wrist-watch-type information terminal, whichincludes a housing 931, a display portion 932, a wristband 933,operation buttons 935, a winder 936, a camera 939, and the like. Thedisplay portion 932 may have a touch panel function. The imaging deviceof one embodiment of the present invention can be included as acomponent for obtaining an image in the information terminal.

FIG. 38E illustrates a portable information terminal, which includes afirst housing 941, a display portion 942, a camera 949, and the like. Atouch panel function of the display portion 942 enables input ofinformation.

FIG. 38F illustrates a car including a car body 951, wheels 952, adashboard 953, lights 954, and the like.

The structure described in this embodiment can be used in appropriatecombination with any of the structures described in the otherembodiments.

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application serial No.2015-213708 filed with Japan Patent Office on Oct. 30, 2015, the entirecontents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

What is claimed is:
 1. A semiconductor device comprising a circuit, thecircuit comprising: a first transistor; a second transistor; a thirdtransistor; a fourth transistor; and a capacitor, wherein the firsttransistor has a polarity different from a polarity of the secondtransistor, wherein a gate of the first transistor is electricallyconnected to a gate of the second transistor, wherein one of a sourceand a drain of the first transistor is directly connected to one of asource and a drain of the second transistor and one of a source and adrain of the third transistor, wherein a gate of the third transistor iselectrically connected to one of a source and a drain of the fourthtransistor and a first electrode of the capacitor, and wherein a secondelectrode of the capacitor is directly connected to the other of thesource and the drain of the first transistor.
 2. The semiconductordevice according to claim 1, wherein the third transistor and the fourthtransistor each comprise an oxide semiconductor in a channel formationregion.
 3. The semiconductor device according to claim 2, wherein theoxide semiconductor comprises In, Zn, and M (M is Al, Ga, Y, or Sn). 4.The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the other of thesource and the drain of the first transistor is electrically connectedto a high potential power supply line, and wherein the other of thesource and the drain of the second transistor is electrically connectedto a low potential power supply line.
 5. The semiconductor deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the second transistor comprises an oxidesemiconductor in a channel formation region thereof.
 6. Thesemiconductor device according to claim 5, wherein the oxidesemiconductor comprises In, Zn, and M (M is Al, Ga, Y, or Sn).
 7. Thesemiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the first transistoris a p-channel transistor, and wherein the second transistor is ann-channel transistor.
 8. An electronic device comprising: thesemiconductor device according to claim 1; and a display device.
 9. Thesemiconductor device according to claim 1, further comprising a fifthtransistor, wherein one of a source and a drain of the fifth transistoris electrically connected to the other of the source and the drain ofthe third transistor.
 10. The semiconductor device according to claim 1,wherein the gate of the first transistor and the gate of the secondtransistor are electrically connected to a first terminal of thecircuit, and wherein the other of the source and the drain of the thirdtransistor is electrically connected to a second terminal of thecircuit.
 11. A semiconductor device comprising a circuit, the circuitcomprising: a first transistor; a second transistor; a third transistor;a fourth transistor; and a capacitor, wherein the first transistor has apolarity different from a polarity of the second transistor, wherein agate of the first transistor is electrically connected to a gate of thesecond transistor, wherein one of a source and a drain of the firsttransistor is directly connected to one of a source and a drain of thesecond transistor and one of a source and a drain of the thirdtransistor, wherein a gate of the third transistor is directly connectedto one of a source and a drain of the fourth transistor and a firstelectrode of the capacitor, and wherein a second electrode of thecapacitor is electrically connected to the other of the source and thedrain of the first transistor.
 12. The semiconductor device according toclaim 11, wherein the third transistor and the fourth transistor eachcomprise an oxide semiconductor in a channel formation region.
 13. Thesemiconductor device according to claim 12, wherein the oxidesemiconductor comprises In, Zn, and M (M is Al, Ga, Y, or Sn).
 14. Thesemiconductor device according to claim 11, wherein the other of thesource and the drain of the first transistor is electrically connectedto a high potential power supply line, and wherein the other of thesource and the drain of the second transistor is electrically connectedto a low potential power supply line.
 15. The semiconductor deviceaccording to claim 11, wherein the second transistor comprises an oxidesemiconductor in a channel formation region thereof.
 16. Thesemiconductor device according to claim 15, wherein the oxidesemiconductor comprises In, Zn, and M (M is Al, Ga, Y, or Sn).
 17. Thesemiconductor device according to claim 11, wherein the first transistoris a p-channel transistor, and wherein the second transistor is ann-channel transistor.
 18. The semiconductor device according to claim11, further comprising a fifth transistor, wherein one of a source and adrain of the fifth transistor is electrically connected to the other ofthe source and the drain of the third transistor.
 19. An electronicdevice comprising: the semiconductor device according to claim 11; and adisplay device.
 20. The semiconductor device according to claim 11,wherein the gate of the first transistor and the gate of the secondtransistor are electrically connected to a first terminal of thecircuit, and wherein the other of the source and the drain of the thirdtransistor is electrically connected to a second terminal of thecircuit.